According to a recent study, 1 out of every 10 teenager has had a same sex encounter at some point in their life.
As reported by the Associated Press, Nearly 10 percent of sexually active New York City high school students say they have had at least one same-sex partner, and teens who say they’ve had sexual contact with both sexes report higher-than-average rates of dating violence, forced sex and risky sexual behavior, a new study says.
The study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics analyzed 17,220 public health surveys and found that more than a third of teens who had same-sex encounters identified themselves as straight. Advocates said the results point to the need for public health messages to target behavior, not identity.
It’s troubling, though not surprising, that the youths who reported encounters with both sexes also had higher rates of risky behavior and violence, said Dr. Susan Blank, assistant commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
“It has been shown in the literature that students who have both male and female partners have a lot of adverse health problems,” she said.
