Parenting Daily

In addition to things like higher education leading to more money made over one’s lifetime, attending college seems to have a positive effect on teens’ sexual behaviors. Specifically, if a teen attends an institution of higher learning (community college, technical school, university, or college), they are less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors.

In a study recently published by the Journal of Adolescent Health, the University of Washington published results of a study conducted with teenagers six months after graduating high school. Some of the highlights, as noted by Science Daily’s website include:

-no difference in risky sexual behaviors between teens who continue to live at home versus those who establish their own residences elsewhere (dorm, apartment, sorority house, etc.).

-college students more likely to always use a condom than those teens who do not attend a 2 or 4 year college.

-15 percent of college students engaged in casual sex (defined as sex with a partner other than a boyfriend or girlfriend) as opposed to 29 percent of teens not in college.

-5 percent of college teens engaged in high-risk sexual activity versus 16 percent of teens who were not attending college (high risk sexual activity being defined as casual sex, inconsistent use of condoms, sex with someone who is HIV positive or an IV drug user, or having sex with a man who has sex with other men)

While I don’t necessarily believe that college is for everyone, studies like this really make me want to encourage my kid to go to college!

Source: University of Washington (2008, June 6).Teenagers Attending
College Less Likely To Engage In Risky Sexual Behavior. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 8, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/06/080605125553.htm

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