Noncoital sexual activities among adolescents

Although prior research has demonstrated that many adolescents engage in noncoital sexual behavior, extant peer-reviewed studies have not used nationally representative data or multivariate methods to examine these behaviors. We used data from Cycle 6 of National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) to explore factors related to oral and anal sex among adolescents.

Data come from 2,271 females and males aged 15-19 in 2002. Computer-assisted self-administered interviews were used to collect sensitive information, including whether respondents had ever engaged in vaginal, oral or anal sex. We used t tests and multivariate logistic regression to test for differences and identify independent characteristics associated with experience with oral or anal sex.

In all, 54% of adolescent females and 55% of adolescent males have ever had oral sex, and one in 10 has ever had anal sex. Both oral sex and anal sex were much more common among adolescents who had initiated vaginal sex as compared with virgins. The initiations of vaginal and oral sex appear to occur closely together; by 6 months after first vaginal intercourse, 82% of adolescents also engaged in oral sex. The strongest predictor of anal sex involvement was time since initiation of vaginal sex and the likelihood of anal sex increased with greater time since first vaginal intercourse. Teens of white ethnicity and higher socioeconomic status were more likely than their peers to have ever had oral or anal sex.

Health professionals and sexual health educators should address noncoital sexual behaviors and risk for sexually transmitted infections risk, understanding that noncoital behaviors commonly co-occur with coital behaviors.