Sexual Health

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education - in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health - conducts the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) in randomly selected public high schools in every odd-numbered year. The YRBS focuses on the major risk behaviors that threaten the health and safety of young people.Read more

This article by Sarah McMahon defines bystander intervention as a promising approach for at-risk youth in regards to sexual violence. The study was conducted specifically with student-athletes to determine their willingness to intervene as bystanders in situations involving sexual violence. The researchers found that the most significant factor in their willingness to intervene was the closeness of the team bond. These results suggest that many student-athletes are willing to serve as active bystanders and provide positive intentions to intervene in sexual violence.

Led by sharply rising rates of chlamydia, reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among 15- to 19-year-olds continued to rise in 2009. Syphilis rates have also increased, while rates of gonorrhea have declined for two years. Following several years of increase, the rate of reported gonorrhea among 15- to 19-year-olds declined in the two most recent years, reaching 405 per 100,000 in 2009—the lowest figure in more than a decade. For syphilis, a low of 1.6 cases per 100,000 population was reached in 2003; it has since climbed (in 2009) to 4.7.Read more

This longitudinal study follows adolescents from middle school into high school and addresses the relationship between adolescent sexual outcomes and: the amount or proportion of sexual content in television viewed by adolescent girls and boys; the contextual elements of that sexual content; adolescents’ viewing involvement; and the potential effects of various gender ideologies.

This study was conducted in order to determine whether being both vigorously active and a team sports participant or being vigorously physically active but not a team member is associated with substance use and sexual risk behaviors. Nationwide, 41.9% of the students were both physically active and participants on a sports team, 22.1% were physically active but not sports team members, 12.6% were physically nonactive sports team members, and 22.3% were physically nonactive and not sports team members.Read more

The national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The national YRBS is conducted every two years during the spring semester and provides data representative of 9th through 12th grade students in public and private schools throughout the United States.Read more

This survey builds on a nationally representative sample of 1,800 young people ranging from 13-24, grouped into “young adolescents,” “adolescents” and “young adults.” This survey can be used as a comprehensive national index of what young people know about sex decisions they make about important sexual health issues.Read more

The mission of Strong Women, Strong Girls is to utilize the lessons learned from strong women throughout history to encourage girls and young women to become strong women themselves. By building communities of women committed to supporting positive social change, Strong Women, Strong Girls works to create cycles of mutual empowerment for women and girls.

Strong Women, Strong Girls is built on a foundation of six core values:

* Love & Support: Building positive and consistent relationships that support each other, even when we make mistakes.Read more

Taking place in Western New York with a sample size of 611 adolescents, this study tests hypotheses about the effects of sports and sexual behavior. The researchers find a correlation between levels of adolescent sexual outcomes and levels of athletic participation: female athletes reported significantly lower rates of sexual activity than female nonathletes; male athletes report slightly (though not significantly) higher rates than male nonathletes.Read more

Utilizing a baseline survey as well as two follow-up surveys, this study examines 123 sixth and seventh grade classrooms from seven middle schools in the greater Cleveland that undergo five educational sessions that address gender violence and sexual harassment. This study questions the effectiveness of the program among boys and girls and asks whether or not girls experience higher levels of gender violence and sexual harassment than boys; while not statistically different, the researchers found that interventions greatly reduced sexual violence victimization and peer perpetration.Read more