The "teen movie" genre begins and ends with sex -- witness the high school students of American Pie, who spend the majority of their time obsessing about their own sexuality.
The stereotype belies Gallup Youth Survey findings that teens appear to be moving toward a more conservative view of premarital sex. When Gallup asked teens in 1977 if it was morally wrong for a man and a woman to have sexual relations before marriage, just 30% agreed. Last year, that figure had risen to 42%.
Adults' views about premarital sex have moved in the opposite direction. When Gallup first asked about this in 1969, 68% of adults 18 and older agreed that it was wrong for a man and a woman to have sexual relations before marriage. In 2001, that figure had dropped to 38%.
Younger teens' views may be a barometer of future mores. In 1977, there was little difference between the views of younger and older teens -- 32% of 13 to 15 year olds felt it was wrong to have sexual relations before marriage, and 28% of 16 to 17 year olds agreed. The difference is broader today: About half (49%) of teens in the 13 to 15 age category feel that sex before marriage is morally wrong, while just 32 % of 16 to 17 year olds hold that view.
As possible further evidence that youth are more conservative than generally thought, more than half (57%) of all teens today say it is wrong for a couple to have a baby before marriage. Only 40% of adults agree.
One can speculate about the reasons for teens' more moderate attitudes toward sexual activity. When HIV/AIDS first appeared in the U.S. in the early 1980s, teens and pre-teens were beset both at home and in their schools with discussions about the disease and its prevention. In fact, when asked in 1988 what they felt was the most urgent health problem facing this country, 57% of all teens named HIV/AIDS. Although that level of concern had declined to 14% in last year's poll, teens are more likely today than they were prior to the advent of AIDS to be educated about the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases.
* Results are based on telephone interviews with 454 teens, ages 13 to 17, conducted June - September 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error is +/- 5 percentage points.