are at greater risk of abuse and neglect. The sons of teen mothers are 13 percent more likely to end up in prison while teen daughters are 22 percent more likely to become teen mothers themselves.What helps prevent teen pregnancy? The primary reason that teenage girls who have never had intercourse give for abstaining from sex is that having sex would be against their religious or moral values. Other reasons cited include desire to avoid pregnancy, fear of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and not having met the appropriate partner. Three of four girls and over half of boys report that girls who have sex do so because their boyfriends want them to. Teenagers who have strong emotional attachments to their parents are much less likely to become sexually active at an early age. Most people say teens should remain abstinent but should have access to contraception. Ninety-five percent of adults in the United Statesand 85 percent of teenagersthink it important that school-aged children and teenagers be given a strong message from society that they should abstain from sex until they are out of high school. Almost 60 percent of adults also think that sexually active teenagers should have access to contraception. Contraceptive use among sexually active teens has increased but remains inconsistent. Three-quarters of teens use some method of contraception (usually a condom) the first time they have sex. A sexually active teen who does not use contraception has a 90 percent chance of pregnancy within one year. Parents rate high among many teens as trustworthy and preferred information sources on birth control. One in two teens say they trust their parents most for reliable and complete information about birth control, only 12 percent say a friend. Teens who have been raised by both parents (biological or adoptive) from birth, have lower probabilities of having sex than teens wh...
