UK Teens At Risk Over Condom Use

UNITED KINGDOM - Teenagers are risking pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections by failing to use condoms properly, experts warned in a new report.
A worrying number put condoms on too late or take them off too early, a study of youngsters at 21 schools and colleges across England revealed.
A total of 1,373 teenagers aged 14 to 18 were questioned about their condom use by researchers from Southampton University and the National Children's Bureau in London.
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Around half said they had had full sex, and 375 said they had used a condom on the latest occasion.
Among these 375, six per cent, had put on the condom too late and six per cent had continued to have sex after they had removed the condom. The study also confirmed that boys who had a good relationship with their mother were less likely to engage in risky sexual behaviour.
Diary
More than 100 of the teenagers kept a diary of their sex lives over a six-month period.
Of the 74 who said they had used a condom during that time, almost one in three put it on too late on at least one occasion, and almost one in 10 removed it too soon.
The authors of the study, published in the British Medical Journal's Sexually Transmitted Infections, concluded: "It is important to address `imperfect' condom use and the factors associated with such use in public health programmes.
"It is essential that young people understand the importance of using condoms consistently and correctly."
from The Manchester Evening News