"Best Bets" to Prevent Contracting STDs:
Delay First Sexual Activity

Studies of sexually transmitted infections in an adolescent population are scarce. However, research on women of childbearing age provides some insight into the association of individual characteristics with STDs. Younger individuals are at a greater risk for STDs than older individuals (Finer, Darroch, & Singh, 1999). Compared to older women, young adults aged 15-24 are more likely to report having been treated for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) (Miller, Cain, Rogers, Gribble, & Turner, 1999). The older a woman was at her first intercourse, the less likely she was to have had a bacterial STD (Miller, Cain, et al., 1999). Panchaud, Singh, Feivelson, & Darroch's (2000) cross-national comparison of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia trends among adolescents and young adults support these findings. Their evidence shows that these STDs are disproportionately present among young people (adolescents aged 15-19 and young adults aged 20-24), with these age groups accounting for between one-fifth and one-third of all reported cases of the diseases. The incidence rates are generally higher among young adults than among adolescents because a greater proportion of young adults engage in sexual activities, putting them at risk of an STD (Panchaud et al., 2000). Fortunately, younger women are also more likely to report using condoms for STD prevention than other women (Finer et al., 1999).