For Teens, Oral Sex Leads to Intercourse

Teens who engage in oral sex have a much higher chance of having intercourse while in high school compared to teens who refrain from oral sex, according to a new study that followed 600 students over the course of three years. It found that teens who have oral sex by the end of 9th grade have a 25% chance of having intercourse by the end of that school year and a 50% chance of having sex by the end of 11th grade, LiveScience reports. By contrast, teens who refrain from oral sex through the completion of 11th grade have only a 16% chance of having intercourse by the end of the year.

More generally, teens who have oral sex tend to have intercourse within six months. "I see most of the health policies out there and guidelines for preventive services talking about sex generally, but they do not specify oral sex. That is an important distinction because teens don't consider oral sex to be sex, and many are not aware of the risks involved," said one of the researchers. Read the full article. (More teenagers stories.)