NEW YORK - Many teenagers and
young adults fail to use condoms consistently, regardless of whether they have
sex with a serious or a "casual" partner, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that among more than 1,300 15- to 21-year-olds, those with
casual sex partners had unprotected sex just as often as those in serious
relationships - about 20 times over the previous three months, on average.
Those who had casual sex were more likely to use condoms at least some of the
time, the study found. But because they had sex more often, they ended up having
unprotected intercourse just as frequently as their peers in steady
relationships.
The findings point up two different problems, according to the researchers.
"Unfortunately, this reveals that teens may overestimate the safety of using
condoms most of the time with a casual partner and underestimate the risk of
unprotected sex with a serious partner," lead study author Dr. Celia Lescano
said in a statement.
Lescano and her colleagues at Brown Medical School in Providence, Rhode
Island, report their findings in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
The study included 1,316 15- to 21-year-olds from three large U.S. cities.
Overall, 65 percent said they'd had sex only with a serious partner over the
past three months; the rest said they'd had at least one casual partner.
Those with casual partners said they used condoms 47 percent of the time,
versus 37 percent among those in steady relationships. Still, young people in
both groups had unprotected sex at about the same frequency.
For study participants in relationships, one of the problems seemed to be
their perception - correct or not - that their partner did not want to use
condoms.
It's important, Lescano's team writes, that teenagers be taught that
consistent condom use is necessary, regardless of who their partner is or how
long they've been in the relationship.
They say young people who worry their partner will be turned off by condoms
need to be reminded that most people accept condom use - and that consistent use
lowers the risk of sexually transmitted diseases for both partners.
SOURCE: Journal of Adolescent Health, September 2006.
