Contrary to what is often assumed, young people in Germany are older today when they have their “first time” than they were ten years ago. This is the result of a new study by the Federal Center for Health Education. The study also provides interesting findings on the subject of contraception.
One third of young people were sexually active for the first time at 16
When do young people in Germany today have sex for the first time? This is the question addressed by the new study “Youth sexuality 9th wave. Representative repeat survey. The perspective of 14- to 25-year-olds” by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), for which around 6,000 adolescents and young adults aged 14 to 25 and their parents were interviewed. The interviews were conducted from summer to fall 2019.
Result: of the boys and girls aged 14, just 3 and 4 percent said they had already had sexual experiences. Of the 15-year-old boys and girls, the proportion is already quite a bit higher at 10 and 13 percent. It is interesting to note that in 2009, at 17 and 21 percent, the number of boys and girls who had already had sex at this age was still significantly higher.
There is a significant increase among 16-year-olds. In this age group, 35 percent of respondents of both sexes said that their first sex was already behind them. Among young men and women aged 17, this even applies to 64 and 69 percent, i.e. around two thirds.
Based on the results, Prof. Dr. med. Heidrun Thaiss, head of the BZgA, concludes, “Assumptions that more and more young people are becoming sexually active earlier and earlier are not confirmed.”
“Waiting for the right guy,” “too shy” and “too young” as reasons for sexual reticence
Study participants were also asked about the reasons why sexual contact had not yet occurred. By far the most young people said they were waiting for the right person (boys: 56 percent, girls: 54 percent).
Other reasons cited very frequently were shyness (boys: 44 percent, girls: 35 percent) and still being too young (boys: 33 percent, girls: 48 percent). A religious and/or traditionalist worldview, on the other hand, plays a role for hardly anyone in postponing the “first time”. Just 4 percent of boys and 12 percent of girls said they thought it was wrong to have sexual intercourse before marriage.
Condoms are used for contraception, the pill is used less than in the past
The number one contraceptive used by German adolescents is the condom. This is clear from the BZgA study. Almost four out of five (77 percent) of those surveyed said they had used a condom for contraception the first time they had sex. In contrast, only 30 percent used the pill. By comparison, 45 percent still relied on the pill in 2014.
How can the decline of the pill be explained? Experts suspect that girls today have more difficulty than five years ago in assessing the health compatibility of the pill.
It is alarming that as many as 9 percent have not used contraception at all or have used it insecurely the “first time”. Among young people with less education, this even applies to 20 percent. So it stands to reason that safer sex is closely linked to the level of education.
Sexual education through parents, friends and school
The study shows that sex education primarily takes place at home – especially with the same-sex parent. For example, 70 percent of girls ask their mother and 45 percent of boys ask their father for advice about sexual matters.
The second and third most frequently named persons for sexual education were the best friend (boys: 39 percent, girls: 49 percent) and teachers (boys: 38 percent, girls: 33 percent).