Study: Teenage girls less likely to use protection than boys

Research from Arizona State University reveals that teen girls were more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior than boys, reports Time Magazine.

The study found that teenage girls were 30 percent less likely than boys to use protection during their first sexual encounter. Furthermore, black teens were 40 percent less likely than white teens to practice safe sex their first time, regardless of the education they received.

However, health education was found to have helped delay the age at which teens first had sex from 15 years old to 17. Researchers told the news source that contracting sexually transmitted infections often happens soon after a teen’s first encounter. The study found no association between the type of sexual health education they received and their risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

In a related study by Indiana University researchers found that 80 percent of boys between the ages of 14 and 17 report using protection during their last 10 sexual encounters, compared to only 58 percent of their female counterparts.

According to a 2009 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 46 percent of high school students reported that they had intercourse.