Studies suggest- teenagers think oral sex is less risky

The study appeared in April’s edition of the journal Pediatrics, published today said that Young adolescents believe that oral sex is less risky to their health and emotions than vaginal sex. About one in five, ninth-graders reported having had oral sex, and almost one-third say they intend to try it during the next six months, a small study of teens at two California schools reports.

The teenagers, whose average age was 14, ½ say oral sex is less risky, more common and more acceptable for their age group than intercourse.
Girls and boys reported similar experiences and opinions about oral sex, which surprised the study’s lead author, Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, associate professor of pediatrics at University of California-San Francisco.

“I think the stereotypes don’t exist as much anymore,” she said. “Girls and boys both see oral sex as not being a big deal.”
“These findings suggest that adults should discuss more than one type of sexual practice when they counsel teens,” said Bonnie.

The study findings also showed that teens considered oral sex less of a threat to their values and beliefs. They thought that oral sex is more acceptable than vaginal sex for adolescents their own age, when the partners are dating each other and also when they are not dating.

“The fact that young adolescents around age 14 are having or considering oral sex and consider it safer and more acceptable than vaginal sex is important information for parents, health care providers and others who work with youth,” Halpern-Felsher said. “When we counsel adolescents about the risks and benefits associated with sex, we need to understand how they perceive it among themselves.”

Although there are few reliable data on the health risks, parents and health care providers can tell teenagers that there is a potential for getting herpes, hepatitis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HIV from oral sex.
And parents can discuss how oral sex might affect a teenager’s relationships and self-image.

The UCSF researchers noted that studies show a general misperception that oral sex entails no risk at all or very little risk. When oral sex is more frequent, sexually transmitted infection rates could raise, if those who engage in oral sex do not use barrier protection, they pointed out.

Guidelines for adolescent health care call for physicians and other health providers to discuss sex and other risky behaviors during regular medical checkups. Those sessions are one opportunity to work with adolescents on the topic of risks and preventive measures with oral sex as well as vaginal and anal sex, Halpern-Felsher said.

More data on oral sex and teenagers are expected soon from the federal National Survey of Family Growth, which for the first time in 2002 included questions on oral sex, said David Landry, a researcher at the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a non-profit group that studies reproductive issues.