Reality check: 95 percent of Americans had premarital sex

[stefan]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/12/19....ap/index.html

Reality check: 95 percent of Americans had premarital sex
POSTED: 6:08 p.m. EST, December 19, 2006


NEW YORK (AP) -- More than nine out of 10 Americans, men and women alike, have had premarital sex, according to a new study. The high rates extend even to women born in the 1940s, challenging perceptions that people were more chaste in the past.

"This is reality-check research," said the study's author, Lawrence Finer. "Premarital sex is normal behavior for the vast majority of Americans, and has been for decades."

Finer is a research director at the Guttmacher Institute, a private New York-based think tank that studies sexual and reproductive issues and which disagrees with government-funded programs that rely primarily on abstinence-only teachings. The study, released Tuesday, appears in the new issue of Public Health Reports.

The study, examining how sexual behavior before marriage has changed over time, was based on interviews conducted with more than 38,000 people -- about 33,000 of them women -- in 1982, 1988, 1995 and 2002 for the federal National Survey of Family Growth. According to Finer's analysis, 99 percent of the respondents had had sex by age 44, and 95 percent had done so before marriage.

Even among a subgroup of those who abstained from sex until at least age 20, four-fifths had had premarital sex by age 44, the study found.

Finer said the likelihood of Americans having sex before marriage has remained stable since the 1950s, though people now wait longer to get married and thus are sexually active as singles for extensive periods.

The study found women virtually as likely as men to engage in premarital sex, even those born decades ago. Among women born between 1950 and 1978, at least 91 percent had had premarital sex by age 30, he said, while among those born in the 1940s, 88 percent had done so by age 44.

"The data clearly show that the majority of older teens and adults have already had sex before marriage, which calls into question the federal government's funding of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs for 12- to 29-year-olds," Finer said.

Under the Bush administration, such programs have received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

"It would be more effective," Finer said, "to provide young people with the skills and information they need to be safe once they become sexually active -- which nearly everyone eventually will."

Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, defended the abstinence-only approach for teenagers.

"One of its values is to help young people delay the onset of sexual activity," he said. "The longer one delays, the fewer lifetime sex partners they have, and the less the risk of contracting sexually transmitted disease."

He insisted there was no federal mission against premarital sex among adults.

"Absolutely not," Horn said. "The Bush administration does not believe the government should be regulating or stigmatizing the behavior of adults."

Horn said he found the high percentages of premarital sex cited in the study to be plausible, and expressed hope that society would not look askance at the small minority that chooses to remain abstinent before marriage.

However, Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America, a conservative group which strongly supports abstinence-only education, said she was skeptical of the findings.

"Any time I see numbers that high, I'm a little suspicious," she said. "The numbers are too pat."

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[asdf]

Test drive before you buy.

[rockgremlin]

"Any time I see numbers that high, I'm a little suspicious," she said. "The numbers are too pat."

I agree with this. I too am a little skeptic about the "95%" It sounds a bit too high. If that's the case, me, my wife, and most of my friends from high school were all in the 5% category. I'm calling bullsh*t. Besides, look at who is funding the study - a private institute with an agenda they're trying to sell.

[asdf]

95% does seem a bit high

[stefan]

"Any time I see numbers that high, I'm a little suspicious," she said. "The numbers are too pat."

I agree with this. I too am a little skeptic about the "95%" It sounds a bit too high. If that's the case, me, my wife, and most of my friends from high school were all in the 5% category. I'm calling bullsh*t. Besides, look at who is funding the study - a private institute with an agenda they're trying to sell.

OMG this makes me laugh RG ... i figured you'd be skeptical of the number, but i didn't consider the fact that you'd actually try to apply this statistic to utah ?!!??!

while i don't think the mormons necessarily uphold their standards 100% i would think that the rate of premarital sex is QUITE low, especially aided by the fact that mormons tend to get married so young. (yes generalizing here.) but that sample is of the US population and wouldn't necessarily apply to local populations or even larger homogenous populations. and utah constitutes 0.7% of the entire US population, so ...

i also don't know about the number, but i wouldn't focus in on its specific value too much either. i do believe it is accurate in that a large percent of the population has and does engage in premarital sex.

fortunately it is protected in this country


hmm ... i can easily understand why anyone may not want to wait until age 35-40 ... and people should only get married if they are ready and are serious about commitment.

[Iceaxe]

No way in hell I'd buy a car without taking it for a test drive

[rockgremlin]

Well, I'm actually kind of glad that I am dubbed "Mr. Skepticism" around here. I view everything with a critical eye.

[Iceaxe]

Well I'm skeptical myself..... I'm having a hard time believe that Rock didn't at least check under the hood

[rockgremlin]

Well I'm skeptical myself..... I'm having a hard time believe that Rock didn't at least check under the hood

I kicked the tires....does that count?

[asdf]

Well I'm skeptical myself..... I'm having a hard time believe that Rock didn't at least check under the hood

I kicked the tires....does that count?

Better then nothing

[Reedus]

Even out of Utah it seems astronomically high. But that is my Utah perspective. Friggin slutty Americans!

[Iceaxe]

Q: What is a virgin?


A: An ugly 3rd grader.

[PunchKing]

Stay Moral Go Oral.

I know that I am part of the 95% at last part of the majority I am validated.

[Scott P]

Ouside Utah, the number seems possibly high, but the figure is definately higher outside UT than in. When I was in basic training in the military, 3 of us out of about 100 in the company had claimed to never had sex (I was one). It seemed to be a common question among drill sargents.

Test drive before you buy.

Works both ways. If the ladies did that, most of the guys would be single methinks.

The ladies need a strong man not afraid to walk or hike, preferably of the SUWA type.

Once you've had green
You know what lovin' means

I've never peeked and don't care too, but it sounds rather obvious that men with big boats and monster trucks are compesating for lack in other areas.

Go for the green meat.

[Udink]

Go for the green meat.

For some reason, that just doesn't sound quite right.

[rockgremlin]

Go for the green meat.

For some reason, that just doesn't sound quite right.

It worked for "Sam I am," er... wait, that was green eggs....nevermind.

[Iceaxe]

I think these girls are some of the 5% chicks....

[Heather]

It seems the only logical, natural thing to do. There is such a thing as sexual compatibility. How else are you supposed to know that person is totally right for you?

[marc olivares]

while i don't think the mormons necessarily uphold their standards 100% i would think that the rate of premarital sex is QUITE low, especially aided by the fact that mormons tend to get married so young.

i dont know about this comment Stefan, it's been my experience that Morman girls are more promiscuous than most catholic high school girls...

[asdf]

you would not believe the freaky stuff that BYU girls will do behind closed doors