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Californians’ Views on Sexuality Education and Teen Pregnancy: Support for Schools and Parents to Play an Active Role SAN FRANCISCO, April 27, 1999 — According to a new statewide survey about sexuality education and teen pregnancy, Californians overwhelmingly support providing education to young people about ways to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and having the schools and parents play a more active role in this process. For example, nearly nine in ten adults support teaching age-appropriate sexuality education in the schools, with a majority saying this should begin by the sixth grade. When asked about what content sexuality education instruction in the high schools should cover, greater than nine in ten would include teaching students the basic facts of human reproduction and contraception; encouraging sexually active teens to use protection, such as condoms, to prevent pregnancy and disease; and including discussions of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Six in ten also favor the idea of allowing public school health clinics to refer sexually active teens to outside family planning clinics, as well as providing non-prescription birth control, like spermicides and condoms, to such teens. Californians think the most effective method for helping teens take personal responsibility for preventing pregnancy is to encourage parents to talk openly about sexuality and birth control with their children. While nearly all parents feel their son or daughter can talk to them about these matters, and most have had such talks in the past year, smaller proportions say they are very comfortable doing so. These are some of the findings from a major statewide survey on teen pregnancy prevention issues conducted by The Field Institute, and funded by The California Wellness Foundation as a part of their Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative. The survey was completed January 26-March 25, 1999 among a random sample of 2,508 California adults, including 1,314 parents of teens or pre-teens. “California has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation,” said Gary L. Yates, President and CEO of The California Wellness Foundation. “This information indicates that Californians are concerned about the issue and willing to do what it takes to help teens prevent unplanned pregnancies, which is very good news.” The survey uncovered some significant differences of opinion on these issues across the state's racial/ethnic minority population. For example, Latinos and black/African-American parents are much more likely to consider teen pregnancy a “very serious” problem today than white or Asian parents. Most parents, especially Latino and black/African American parents, say that they would find it “very useful” to receive more information about how to talk to their children about birth control, teen pregnancy prevention and sex education, and where to go to get help on teen pregnancy and family planning issues. The following is a summary of the survey's main findings: Parents believe teen pregnancy is a “very serious” problem A majority of adults (56%) and two in three parents (66%) feel the problem of teen pregnancy is “very serious.” While the view that teen pregnancy is a very serious problem spans all subgroups of the state's population, Latino parents (80%) and black/African-American parents (77%) are more likely than white non-Hispanic parents (58%) and Asian parents (51%) to feel this way. Schools should provide age-appropriate sexuality education and services There is widespread agreement among Californians that young people should be provided with information about how to prevent pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, and that schools should play an active role in this process. For example, greater than eight in ten (84%) believe specific instruction should be provided to young people about how to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and a similar proportion (88%) supports teaching age-appropriate sexuality education in the schools. Although Californians volunteer a range of grades for beginning sexuality education in the schools, a majority (52%) thinks this should begin by the 6th grade. When asked about what types of content sexuality education instruction in the high schools should cover, greater than nine in ten would include discussions of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (99%), teaching students the basic facts of human reproduction (97%) and encouraging sexually active teens to use protection, such as condoms, to prevent pregnancy and disease (93%). In addition, 85% support high school discussions instructing teens about how to talk about sex with a partner. Three in four of both California adults (79%) and parents of teens and pre-teens (75%) support the idea of allowing public school health clinics to refer sexually active teens to outside family planning clinics and six in ten adults (64%) and parents (60%) support school clinics providing non-prescription birth control, like spermicides and condoms, to such teens. Combat teen pregnancy by encouraging parent-child discussions Californians believe that the most effective method for combating teen pregnancy is to encourage parent-child discussions about these matters. Two in three (65%) say that encouraging parents to talk openly about sex and birth control with their children would be “extremely effective” in reducing teen pregnancy. Parents are talking to their teens about sex, but many aren't very comfortable doing so While nearly all parents feel their son or daughter can talk to them about sex, pregnancy and birth control matters, and most have had such talks in the past year, smaller proportions say they are very comfortable doing so. When parents of teens are asked whether their teenage daughter or son can talk to them about sex, pregnancy and birth control issues, about nine in ten answer in the affirmative. In addition, about three in four parents of teens report talking to their teenage son or daughter specifically about sex or birth control in the past year. On the other hand, just 53% of parents describe themselves as being very comfortable talking to their teenage daughter about sex or sexual intercourse and 54% are very comfortable talking about these matters with their teenage son. Similarly, 55% of parents report being very comfortable talking to their teenage daughter about contraception and birth control methods, and 62% say this about their teenage son. Fathers are typically less comfortable than mothers when talking to a teenage daughter about pregnancy prevention issues. In addition, mothers spend more time on average talking to their teen about sex and birth control than do fathers. Greatest teen pregnancy concern relates to the well-being of the child When asked about the consequences of teen pregnancy, majorities of adults (63%) and parents (59%) worry most about the potential effect that this can have on the child. This concern far outweighs other concerns, such as the potential effect it can have on the mother (cited by 22% of adults and 29% of parents) or its cost to taxpayers (12% and 9%, respectively). More information on teen-sexuality issues would be “very useful” to parents Half or more of the parents of teens or pre-teens say that they would find it “very useful” to receive more information about teen-sexuality issues in each of three areas — how to talk to your children about birth control and teen pregnancy prevention issues, how to talk to your children about sex education, and where you can go to get help on teen pregnancy and family planning issues. About the Survey The findings reported in this report are based on a large-scale survey of Californian adults and parents conducted by The Field Institute and funded by The California Wellness Foundation as part of its Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative. The study was completed by means of computer-assisted telephone interviewing among 2,508 Californians, including 1,508 adults and an additional sample of 1,000 parents of teens age 13-17 and/or pre-teens age 10-12. Because the cross-section sample also included interviews with some adults who were parents of teens or pre-teens, the total number of teen/pre-teen parents interviewed was 1,314. All respondents were contacted through a random digit dialing sampling methodology, and up to six attempts were made at each randomly selected household to complete the interview. After the completion of interviewing, the findings were weighted to provide both a proper representation of all California adults, as well as of parents of teens or pre-teens. All interviewing for the survey was conducted in either English or Spanish during the period January 26-March 25, 1999 from Field’s central location telephone interviewing facilities in San Francisco. Survey results from the overall adult sample are subject to a sampling error of ±2.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, while findings from the parent sample are subject to a sampling error of ±2.8 percentage points. Sampling error estimates applicable to subgroups of these populations would be larger. There are many possible sources of error in any survey other than sampling variability. Different results could occur because of differences in question wording, sequencing or through undetected errors or omissions in sampling, interviewing or data processing. Every effort was made to minimize such errors. For more details about the findings reported here, please see Findings in Brief: A Look at Californians’ Views on Teen Pregancy, May 1999 (PDF-269KB). The Field Institute ### |
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