Guidelines for adolescent health care call for physicians and other health providers to discuss sex and other risky behaviors during regular medical checkups. Those sessions are one opportunity to work with adolescents on the topic of risks and preventive measures with oral sex as well as vaginal and anal sex, Halpern-Felsher said.
"Parents and caregivers also should find opportunities to engage teens in discussions about the emotional and social aspects of all types of sex, to get them thinking about whether their perceptions match their own situations," she said.
One troubling finding of the study was the teens' perception of the health risks of oral sex. Most of the participants recognized that there is some risk of infection with sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia and HIV, and accurately ranked this risk less than with vaginal sex. However, one in seven participants thought that the risk of STDs from oral sex would be zero.
The UCSF researchers noted other studies that show a general misperception that oral sex entails no risk at all or very little risk. When oral sex is more frequent, sexually transmitted infection rates could rise if those who engage in oral sex do not use barrier protection, they pointed out.
"There is not much data about the chances of sexually transmitted infections due to oral sex, but there is a real risk," Halpern-Felsher said. "When teens are engaging in or considering oral sex, they need to know about methods to keep themselves safe from physical as well as emotional risks."
The findings come from a larger longitudinal study on the relationship between adolescents' perceptions and their actions when behaviors pose
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Contact: Janet Basu
jbasu@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
4-Apr-2005