Teenage Sexual Practices Studied

WASHINGTON - U.S. researchers say they've determined that more than 3 percent of U.S. teens have exchanged sex for money or drugs.
The research -- funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse -- was conducted by the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.
The researchers analyzed in-depth interviews of more than 13,000 adolescents taking part in a study tracking the long term health of adolescents across the nation.
The prevalence of having ever exchanged sex for drugs or money was 3.5 percent, with nearly two-thirds of those teenagers being boys.
The likelihood of exchanging sex for drugs or money was higher among those who were of African-American ethnicity, those who lived in a non-traditional family, and those whose parents had limited education.
"The present findings indicate that considerable numbers of youths in the general population have exchanged sex," reported the study's authors, noting their estimate of teenagers exchanging sex for drugs or money might be too conservative.
The research appears in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.
from United Press International