Teenagers in the United States: Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, and Childbearing, 2015-2019

Objective\u2014This report presents national estimates of sexual activity and contraceptive use among males and females ages 15\u201319 in the United States, based on data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).Methods\u2014NSFG data were collected through in-person interviews with nationally representative samples of males and females ages 15\u201349 in the household population of the United States. NSFG 2015\u20132019 interviews were conducted between September 2015 and September 2019 with 21,441 males and females, including 3,812 teenagers (1,894 females and 1,918 males ages 15\u201319). Estimates include measures of sexual experience and contraceptive use as well as circumstances of first sexual intercourse (sex), attitudes, and probability of a birth during the teen years. Estimates are shown overall and by Hispanic origin and race, age group, parental living arrangements, and maternal characteristics. The report focuses on the period 2015\u20132019, with trends shown for selected measures for time points 2002, 2006\u20132010, 2011\u20132015, and 2015\u20132019.Results\u2014In 2015\u20132019, 40.5% of never-married female teenagers (3.8 million), and 38.7% of never-married male teenagers (3.8 million) had ever had vaginal intercourse with an opposite-sex partner. For females this percentage was stable across the four time points, but for males this percentage decreased from the 2002 (45.7%) and 2011\u20132015 (44.2%) time points. For teen males, use of any contraception at first sex increased across the four time points, from 82.0% in 2002 to 92.1% in 2015\u20132019, while no consistent trend was seen for teen females. Nearly four out of five female teenagers (77.3%) in 2015\u20132019 used a method of contraception at first sex. Among female teenagers, ever-use of long-acting reversible contraception, which includes intrauterine devices and contraceptive implants, increased from 5.8% to 19.2% from 2011\u20132015 to 2015\u20132019CS34559