Although teen pregnancy and birth rates had declined steadily in the United States since 1990, birth rates have risen over the last two years, and the United States continues to have among the highest teen birth, HIV, and STI rates among industrialized nations.

Millions of American youth are engaging in behaviors that put them at risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Each year in the United States, about 750,000 adolescent females become pregnant, 20,000 young people are newly infected with HIV, and nearly four million new STI infections occur among 15- to 19-year-olds.

Yet research has shown that given the right tools, young people have the potential to take responsibility for their sexual and reproductive health. Parental involvement and culturally competent programs that provide complete and accurate information can go a long way toward helping youth make good decisions; but socioeconomic, cultural, and educational disparities must be redressed in order for all youth to lead successful and healthy lives.

General Facts about Adolescent Sexual Behavior

• Adolescent Pregnancy and Protective Behaviors
• Reproductive Health Outcomes & Contraceptive Use among U.S. Teens
• Adolescent Protective Behaviors: Abstinence and Contraceptive Use
• Adolescent Sexual Behavior. I: Demographics
• Adolescent Sexual Behavior. II: Socio-Psychological Factors 
• Adolescent Sexual Health in Europe and the U.S.—Why the Difference?
• Facts by State
• Facts by Global Region
• The Sexual and Reproductive Health of Youth: A Global Snapshot
• Youth and the State of Culture
• Youth and the State of Science: Health, New Technologies, Ethics and Human Rights
• Youth and the State of the World

Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Youth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Over 90% of new HIV infections occur in low- and middle-income countries, with millions infected there.  In these countries, pregnancy (including complications from childbirth and unsafe abortion) is the leading cause of death for young women ages 15-19. Young people in low- and middle-income countries need information about and access to contraception and condoms to protect their health and lives.

• Science and Success in Developing Countries: Holistic Programs That Work to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, HIV & Sexually Transmitted Infections
•  Executive Summary 
• Giving Up Harmful Practices, Not Culture
• Renunciar a las prácticas nocivas, no a la cultura
• Abandonner les pratiques nuisibles et non la culture
• The Sexual and Reproductive Health of Youth: A Global Snapshot
• Youth and the Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic   
• Los Jóvenes y la Pandemia Global de VIH/SIDA   

Redressing Reproductive and Sexual Health Disparities Among Young People

Young people of color are at greater risk of HIV and STI infection, even with identical risk behaviors; and young women of color are more than twice as likely to experience pregnancy as young white women.  Further, prejudice, discrimination, and harassment are still serious concerns for young people of color and GLBTQ young people.   The following resources address the disproportionate impact of negative sexual health outcomes on these young people as well as the underlying social forces that contribute to these disparities.

• Youth of Color—At Disproportionate Risk of Negative Sexual Health Outcomes
• GLBTQ Youth
• Adolescent Sexual Health and the Dynamics of Oppression: A Call for Cultural Competency
• Latina Adolescent Health
• The Sexual Health of Latina Adolescents—Focus on Assets
• The Sexual Health of Asian—American/Pacific Islander Young Women: Focus on Assets
• Sex Education for Physically, Emotionally, and Mentally Challenged Youth