High School Seniors Are Taking Fewer Risks—Sort of

In many ways, high school seniors are better behaved than they used to be. The results of the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) show fewer seniors engaging in a number of risky activities. The YRBSS has been tracking the behavior of middle and high school students every two years since 1991, surveying students in public and private schools across the country. Here's a comparison of the behaviors of high school seniors in 2019 with their counterparts in 2009 and 1999...

Percent of high school seniors who engaged in activity, 1999 to 2019

	2019	2009	1999
Drove after drinking*	7.8%	28.2%	37.2%
Currently smoke cigarettes*	9.0	25.2	42.8
Currently drink alcohol*	39.9	51.7	61.7
Currently use marijuana*	28.3	24.6	31.5
Ever had sexual intercourse	56.7	62.3	64.9
Currently sexually active**	42.3	49.1	50.6
Use a computer 3 or more hours per day for something other than school work***	45.5	21.2	–
Watch television 3 or more hours per day***	19.4	–	33.1

Note: – means data not available.

* In past 30 days

** In past 3 months

*** On an average school day

Many fewer high school seniors are smoking cigarettes, with the percentage of current smokers falling from 43 percent in 1999 to just 9 percent in 2019. But 40 percent of 2019 high school seniors reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, making vaping almost as popular as cigarettes were two decades ago.

Many fewer high school seniors report driving after drinking, with the number falling from 37 percent in 1999 to just 8 percent in 2019. But the 59.5 percent majority of 2019 high school seniors say they have texted while driving in the past 30 days, a behavior that can be as dangerous as driving after drinking. 

Nearly half of high school seniors say they use computers (including smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, etc.) for something other than schoolwork for 3 or more hours a day on an average school day. But many fewer high school seniors are spending a lot of time watching television.

Source: CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System 

Teen Sexual Activity Has Declined

The percentage of never-married 15-to-19-year-olds who have ever had sexual intercourse has fallen over the years, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The percentage of females aged 15 to 19 who have had sex fell from 51 to 42 percent between 1988 and 2011–15. Among males the percentage fell from 60 to 44 percent. When those who have not yet had sex are asked why they haven't, these are their main reasons...

Females
Against religion or morals: 35.3%
Haven't found the right person: 21.9%
Don't want to get pregnant: 19.3%
Don't want to get a sexually transmitted disease: 7.1%
In a relationship and waiting for right time: 6.2%

Males
Haven't found the right person: 28.5%
Against religion or morals: 27.9%
Don't want to get a girl pregnant: 21.2%
In a relationship and waiting for right time: 6.6%
Don't want to get a sexually transmitted disease: 4.7%

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Survey of Family Growth, Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use among Teenagers in the United States, 2011–2015

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System: 2013 Results

The 2013 results are now available from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a massive survey of teenagers in 9th through 12th grade taken by the CDC every two years. Results are available in a lengthy report and in an interactive database allowing comparisons between years, among states, and by demographic characteristic.

Here is the percentage of high school students by grade who have ever had sexual intercourse in 2013 (and in 1993). Note the statistically significant decline in each grade.

9th grade: 30.0% (37.7)
10th grade: 41.4% (46.1)
11th grade: 54.1% (57.5)
12th grade: 64.1% (68.3)

Source: CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System

Waiting for the Wedding Night

Percentage of Americans who agree/strongly agree with the tradition of "waiting" for the wedding night, by generation...

Millennials: 47%
Gen Xers: 48%
Boomers: 52%
Matures: 63%

"Waiting for the wedding night" is an ideal many Americans admire, but few practice. Only 15 percent of women are virgins on their wedding day, according to the National Survey of Family Growth, a proportion that varies little by generation.

Source: Harris Interactive, Americans Still Think a Bride's Father Should Give Her Away—But They're Split on Whether He Should Be Stuck with the Bill

Can You Live Without It?

Percentage of Millennials (aged 18 to 36) who say they could live without...

TV: 35%
Sex: 20%
Internet: 17%

Source: Harris Interactive, The Not-So-United States of Technology

What Is Changing?

"Older Americans' Moral Attitudes Changing," reads the headline of a recent Gallup story. The headline is misleading, however, because the change is demographic, not psychographic.

Take the issue of premarital sex. In 2012, the 51 percent majority of 55-to-64-year-olds agreed that premarital sex was "not wrong at all," according to the General Social Survey, up from just 37 percent who felt that way In 1991. This change in attitude occurred only because everyone in the age group had been replaced by a more tolerant group of people. In 2012, the oldest baby boomers were the nation's 55-to-64-year-olds.

But the attitudes of those oldest boomers had barely changed over the two decades. In 1991, when the oldest boomers were in the 35-to-44 age group, 49 percent thought there was nothing wrong with premarital sex—nearly identical to the 51 percent who felt that way in 2012 when they were in the 55-to-64 age group.

Meanwhile, the 55-to-64-year-olds of 1991 hadn't changed their minds either. If anything, they were less tolerant of premarital sex than they had been. In 2012, now in the 75-to-84 age group, only 29 percent thought there was nothing wrong with premarital sex.

Valentine's Day Fun

When Harris Interactive asked Americans aged 18 or older whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, "I will probably have sex on Valentine's Day," 49 percent somewhat or strongly agreed. Here is the percentage who agreed by generation...

Millennials: 57%
Gen Xers: 59%
Boomers: 46%
Matures: 25%

Source: Harris Interactive, Calling on Cupid: Men More Likely to Fear Being Single on Valentine's Day, Finds Harris Poll

Counting Gays and Lesbians

Determining how many Americans are LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender) has been attempted many times over the years with varying results. The biggest problem is underreporting, since many gays and lesbians will not say so on a survey. Another problem is how to ask the question. Terms such as "heterosexual," "homosexual," "bisexual," and "transgender" can stump the less-educated portion of the population. This is why the federal government modified categories on the 2006-08 National Survey of Family Growth from "heterosexual" to "heterosexual or straight" and from "homosexual" to "homosexual or gay" (for men) and "homosexual, gay, or lesbian" (for women). Too many uneducated respondents did not understand what they were being asked.

Now Gallup has waded into the water, asking more than 120,000 respondents the question, "Do you, personally, identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender?" The result: 3.4 percent of adults aged 18 or older identify themselves as LGBT.

Some may raise issue with the way Gallup asked the question--is it too complex for comprehension? Does it suggest political as well as sexual orientation? Despite these issues, the results are interesting--particularly by age. The percentage who identify themselves as LGBT is highest among 18-to-29-year-olds (6.4 percent) and falls with age to just 1.9 percent of people aged 65 or older. It's no surprise that younger Americans are more likely than older adults to identify themselves as LGBT because their peers are more accepting. Delving into the data more deeply, however, there is a portion of the population that says "don't know" or refuses to answer the question entirely. This proportion is smallest among young adults (3.5 percent) and rises with age to 6.5 percent of people aged 65 or older. If you sum the percentage of people who identify as LGBT and the percentage who "don't know" or refuse to answer, differences by age shrink considerably...

Percentage who identify as LGBT plus "don't know"/refused to answer:
Total, 18-plus: 3.4 + 4.4 = 7.8%
18-29: 6.4 + 3.5 = 9.9%
30-49: 3.2 + 3.2 = 6.4%
50-64: 2.6 + 4.3 = 6.7%
65-plus: 1.9 + 6.5 = 8.4%

This sum may do a better job of estimating the true size of the LGBT population.

Source: Gallup, Special Report: 3.4% of U.S. Adults Identify as LGBT

Helicopter Parents = Less Sex

Birth rates for teenagers are at an historic low, as this blog reported previously. One factor behind the decline is the fact that teens today are less likely to be sexually experienced. The percentage of 18-to-19-year-old men who have ever had sexual intercourse fell from 77 percent in 1988 to 64 percent in 2006-10. Among their female counterparts, the figure fell from 73 to 63 percent during those years.

Is this yet another example of how helicopter parenting is changing the lives of young adults? For other examples, see my posts on the decline in crime and the decline in accidental deaths among children.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Teenagers in the United States: Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, and Childbearing, 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth

Why They Didn't Use Birth Control

Percent distribution of teenagers aged 15 to 19 who had an unintended pregnancy by reason for not using birth control...

31% thought they could not get pregnant at the time
24% had a partner who did not want to use birth control
22% did not mind getting pregnant
13% had trouble getting birth control
9% did not like the side effects of birth control
8% thought they or their partner was sterile

Note: Numbers add to more than 100% because more than one reason could be reported.
Source: CDC, Pre-pregnancy Contraceptive Use among Teens with Unintended Pregnancies Resulting in Live Births--Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), 2004-2008

Teenagers Less Likely to Have Sex

The percentage of never-married teenage boys aged 15 to 19 who have ever had sexual intercourse fell sharply--from 60 to 42 percent between 1988 and the 2006-10 time period. Among girls, the figure fell from 51 to 43 percent. 

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Teenagers in the United States: Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, and Childbearing, 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth

Same-Sex Couple Bruhaha

For a good overview of the Census Bureau's problem and subsequent correction of the 2010 census count of same-sex couple households, see this Pew Research Center analysis. According to the Census Bureau, the "preferred" census count of same-sex couple households is 646,464. Among them, 131,729 are same-sex married couples.

College Not an Animal House

Facts aren't as much fun as fantasy. Just as Hollywood portrays cigarette smoking to be more upscale and popular than it really is, it also shows college kids to be much more promiscuous than they really are. In fact, 70 percent of 20-to-24-year-old men and 75 percent of 20-to-24-year-old women have had only one opposite-sex partner in the past year (50 and 58 percent, respectively) or none at all (20 and 17 percent, respectively).

Over a lifetime, college-educated men and women have fewer sex partners than the average man or woman. Among men under age 45, those with a bachelor's degree have had 4.8 opposite-sex partners in their lifetime versus 5.1 partners for the average man. Among women under age 45, the college-educated have had 2.9 opposite-sex partners in their lifetime versus 3.2 partners for the average woman.

Source: National Survey of Family Growth

Census Bureau to Release Same-Sex Couple File

We are about to know a whole lot more about the nation's same-sex couples. Later this year, the Census Bureau will release the Same-sex Couple Households Summary File from the 2010 census, providing detailed geographical information on the number of same-sex couples as well as their marital status and other demographic characteristics.

The Census Bureau has been struggling almost as much as the nation's politicians with the issue of same-sex couples. In the Current Population Survey until 2010, according to bureau employees Daphne Lofquist and Renee Ellis, same-sex couples who reported that they were married were recoded as opposite-sex married couples. In 2010, the bureau changed the editing procedure and recoded them as same-sex unmarried partners. Now that the second largest state in the nation has legalized gay marriage, the editing procedure will have to change again.

The Census Bureau has been collecting information on same-sex couple households through the American Community Survey since 2005. The latest data, from 2009, counted 581,300 households in the United States headed by same-sex spouses or partners. This compares with 5,920,821 households headed by unmarried opposite-sex partners, and 55,811,477 headed by opposite-sex married couples.

Source: Census Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements data, scroll down to the Same-Sex Couples section.

Sexual Identity of High School Students

In a survey of the sexual identity and behavior of high school students, the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System has released the following findings on the sexual identity of students in grades 9 through 12...

Heterosexual: 93.0%
Gay or lesbian: 1.3%
Bisexual: 3.7%
Not sure: 2.5%

Note: The survey asked high school students about their sexual identity in the states of Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont, and in the cities of Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. Figures above are medians for the 9 reporting areas.
Source: CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts, and Health-Risk Behaviors among Students in Grades 9-12--Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, Selected Sites, United States, 2001-2009

American Public Thinks 25% Are Gay/Lesbian

Percentage who are gay/lesbian according to the American public: 25%.
Percentage who are gay/lesbian according to government surveys: 4%.

Source: Gallup and Sexual Behavior, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Identity in the United States: Data from the 2006-2008 National Survey of Family Growth

More 2010 Census Data

Age and Sex Composition: 2010
The Hispanic Population: 2010

Very Cool Interactive Map

Want to know 2010 census details about housing in your area? Check out the Census Bureau's interactive map that allows you to click and zoom in on any state, county, or place in the United States and get owner-occupied, renter-occupied, vacant, for rent, and for sale housing unit counts.

Population by race, ethnicity, age, and sex are also on tap at the site. Note that data for 13 states are still to come. The final state release (for Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia) and national totals are scheduled for Thursday, May 26.

The Affluence of Same-Sex Couples

Among the nation's 6.5 million unmarried couples, 581,300 are same-sex couples, according to a Census Bureau analysis of data from the 2009 American Community Survey.

Male same-sex couples are far more affluent than married couples. Female same-sex couples are equally as affluent as married couples. Here is average household income by type of couple...

Male same-sex couples: $116,749
Married opposite-sex couples: $93,351
Female same-sex couples: $92,213
Unmarried opposite-sex couples: $64,005

Source: Census Bureau, Families and Living Arrangements, Working Papers

Who Supports Gay Marriage?

Americans are much more supportive of gay marriage today than they used to be. There are two reasons for this. One, some people are changing their minds about the issue. Two, a generation gap has emerged in attitudes toward gay marriage, with younger, more accepting generations replacing older generations that frown on same-sex relationships.  

In 2010, 46 percent of the public agreed that gays and lesbians should have the right to marry, according to the General Social Survey. In 1988, the first time the GSS asked this question, only 12 percent of the public supported gay marriage.

In 1988, there was little support for gay marriage in any cohort. Among boomers (then aged 24 to 42), only 14 percent agreed that gay/lesbian marriage should be legal. Among young adults (18 to 29), the figure was an almost identical 13 percent, which is not surprising since boomers accounted for most young adults at the time. Among people aged 65 or older in 1988, only 9 percent agreed that gays and lesbians should have the right to marry.

In 2010, the landscape is different. Boomers and older Americans have become more accepting of gay marriage over the years, but the majority is still opposed. Among boomers (aged 46 to 64), 41 percent now support gay marriage. Among people aged 65 or older, 34 percent are now in support. These numbers are significantly higher than they were in 1988, but they still represent a minority view. In contrast, among 18-to-29-year-olds in 2010, fully 65 percent think gays and lesbians should be allowed to marry.

In 1988, there was a tiny 4 percentage point difference in the proportion of young and old adults who thought gay marriage should be legal (13 and 9 percent, respectively). In 2010, the gap is an enormous 31 percentage points (65 and 34 percent, respectively).

As young adults age and replace older generations, gay marriage will become legal and will no longer be controversial. But because older Americans are much more likely to vote than younger adults, gay marriage will be an issue in the voting booth for years to come.