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Teens regret sex, are happier when they practice abstinence.

In a 1994 Roper Starch study of more than 500 high schoolers, 62 percent of the sexually experienced girls (and 54 percent of all teens who have had sex at least once) said that they “should have waited.” The study also found that 36% of all respondents had had sexual intercourse at least once. (“Teens Talk About Sex: Adolescent Sexuality in the 90’s,” Roper Starch Organization, April 11-25, pg. 25.)

¨ A 1992 study of more than 1,000 high schoolers in California found that 44 percent had engaged in sexual activity. (Nancy Tee Leland and Richard P. Barth, “Gender Differences in Knowledge, Intentions, and Behaviors Concerning Pregnancy and STD Prevention Among Adolescents,” Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 13, 1992, pp. 589-599.)
¨ Every day, 8,000 teens contract a sexually transmitted disease and each year, nearly 900,000 teens become pregnant." Abstinence is the only way to be sure to avoid this. (Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney Jr. Founder of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health.)

¨ According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,52% of teens are not sexually active (the percentage of teens abstaining from sex rose from 46% in 1995 to 52% in 1997). A researcher from the University of Missouri conducted a survey of 700 kids in grades 8 through10 to find out why some kids chose to remain to abstinent. The most common reason given was fear of the consequences of premarital sex, such as pregnancy, disease or punishment from parents. (“The Family in America”, New Research, 11/99)