What do you make of the study that found that 95% of Americans have had premarital sex?

Question

According to a recent study by the Guttmacher Institute, 95% of Americans end up having sex prior to marriage, partly because of current tendencies to put off marriage until later and later in life.

What are the implications of this study as well as of other studies that show, for example, that young people who dedicate themselves for abstinence do put off intercourse until later but do not refrain from other sexual activities, and then end up having unprotected sex when they finally give in?

Your thoughts and reflections, please.

Incidentally, links to the above stories are below:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061219/ap_on_re_us/premarital_sex
http://archive.salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/01/08/virginity_pledge/index.html

Perhaps I should have specified: what are the implications for education, religion, health, and politics?

This study doesn't include just teenagers; it includes anyone who has sex prior to getting married. Also, by "sex" it doesn't mean just intercourse; it also includes oral and anal sex.

Answer 1

proves the religious right and their abstinence bs. is a myth.

Answer 2

You raise some good points. I can empathize with people who get upset over abortion, but their attacks on contraception are asenine and backward. The surest way to prevent abortions is to prevent unwanted pregancies -- hence we should teach and distribute birth control at every opportunity. We should FLOOD the school system with a full understanding of how sexuality works because IGNORANCE is what gets people pregnant. "C'mon baby, if I pull out quick enough you can't get pregnant." Get the point? And, of course, puritanical America is full of liars. We have just as much premarital sex as anyone, but at least the Europeans are open about it while we try to pretend our kids won't do what we did. And what's REALLY ironic is that the holier-than-thou South is the WORST offender for teen pregancies, divorces and STD's. What a surprise ... not.

Answer 3

it shows that many people don't follow the bible

i think that it is stupid. i am 21 yrs old and i'm a virgin.

anyway, as some other people have said i think that 95% is a bit too high. studies aren't accurate. maybe only 95% of that chosen group has had premarital sex by chance. if they actually interviewed the whole entire USA it would probably be smaller because the USA is a very diverse country. do ya know how many different ethnic groups there are in the USA and how many religions there are?

Answer 4

I don't know about 95 percent that sounds a bit high... I don't know about the wait till marriage programs, I went to public school and they showed how to use condoms and all that stuff. Where did they get their statistics who did they interview... If they intervied 100,000 that isn't the whole country. I have heard though that studies have found that manogomous relationships have shown a much healthier sex life. Monogumous means one person not one person at a time...www.pamstenzel.com

Answer 5

You have to keep in mind that these studies aren't 100% accurate. They take a group of a certain number of people from various demographics and the study reflects off of those people. Taking 50,000 people might reveal that 95% of them had premarital sex, but it certainly can't truly reflect all of Americans. But that is the way studies and statistics work - taking a certain number of people and drawing a conclusion to a specific question and then generalizing it.

Answer 6

Are you american? You seem perturbed by this - I do not think it is the end of the world. I do believe that sex should be deferred until the early 20s for both girls and boys. Other forms of sexual activity (self pleasure) is great for young people. It helps them to get to know their bodies.

If TV programmes aimed at young people could set a better example (to much emphasis upon dating) then maybe sex wouldn't be so prevalent.

young people need to be aware of safe sex and the possibility that no contraception is 100%

Answer 7

Good people shouldn't have to wait for marriage to have sex it's stupid and plus i don't even see why people wanna get married u gotta share ur house then u'll end up knocked up with 39 kidsand u and ur husband will fight all the time and ur kids will have mental issues then u'll have to move into a cardboard box on the side of the street cause u can't pay all ur bills cause of ur kids then u'll die .SOOO the moral of this story is YAY premaretial sex.

Answer 8

i think there is nothing wrong with premarital sex. before you get married you need to make sure you are compatible on every level, including sex. also if both partners wait for marriage, there is always the curiosity of what it would be like with someone else, which could lead to unfaithfulness. also sticking to abstinence does, in my opinion rush yopung couples misleadingly to the alter.

on the condom issue. thats the stupid stance the us government takes. it says abstinence is the best protection against stds, but they dont provide options for young people when they find themselves in a sexual situation. the goverment needs to increase awareness in schools bout condoms.

thats my opinion

Answer 9

That's very interesting. I guess I am apart of the 5% and I plan on staying a virgin until I am married. Good study.

Answer 10

I see nothing wrong with pre-marital sex. And if someone thinks doing "everything but" (or everything butt...?) protects their virtueousness in god's eyes, all the power to them. Sex before marriage isn't a bad thing...it's like taking a car for a test run. Even if you know you aren't gonna buy the Ferrari, why not have the experience of driving it?

Answer 11

sex has become more of an open thing. it is not taken seriously anymore. people just freely have sex without thinks about the consequences, or the attatchments. sex is such and open subject. think of all the questions on here that have to do with sex.