Premarital sex

(also called non-marital sex, youthful sex, adolescent sex, and young-adult
sex) is sexual activity, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex, practiced by
persons who are unmarried. Although it has always been practiced, in the West it has
increased in prevalence since the mid-1950s. Historically considered taboo by many
cultures and considered a sin by numerous religions, it has become more commonly
accepted in the last few decades.
RISK FACTORS FOR PREMARITAL SEX

Alcohol and drug use. Aside from reflecting problem attitudes (rebellion, poor
self-concept, invulnerability) that make sex more likely, intoxication also clouds
judgment and weakens resistance to sexual overtures.

A steady boyfriend or girlfriend. Strong attachments and feelings of exclusivity

invite nature to take its course, especially when physical expressions of affection
begin early in the relationship.

Little parental monitoring. Leaving adolescents alone for hours at a time or not
requiring accountability is a setup for sex.

A parental belief that adolescent sex is appropriate. If you think premarital

sex is okay, your adolescent will too and will act on that belief.

A parental belief that adolescent sex is inevitable. Many parents who

disapprove of teen sex have also concluded that it is as certain as death and
taxes. Their approach to the subject will thus be double-edged: "Don't do it, but in
case you do, use this condom." Adolescents will get the message loud and clear
and are likely to act accordingly.

Low grade-point average/low attachment to school. While school

performance is affected by a variety of factors, a basic desire to do well in school
reflects a more hopeful outlook on the future and a willingness to put off
immediate gratification for long-term goals. Teen sex, on the contrary, usually
reflects ignorance of or little regard for consequences.
This doesn't mean, of course, that every scholar is a bulwark of morality or that
all who are not academically oriented are destined to be promiscuous. What
ultimately matters is a person's commitment to basic values such as
responsibility, respect for self and others and concern about the effect of today's
decisions on the future.

A history of physical or sexual abuse . These acts against children and

adolescents violate their bodies, minds and hearts. Sexual abuse creates a
grossly distorted view of sexual behavior, destroys boundaries, and drives a deep
sense of worthlessness into the emotions. Whether the abuse occurred in the
distant or recent past, adolescents with this history need ongoing support,
counseling and prayer to help them develop healthy attitudes about sex and
about themselves.

Frequent family relocations. Moving generally stresses both parents and

adolescents (especially if the kids resent the decision). This can erode parental
authority and distract parents from involvement with their children. Bonds to
social supports such as church groups that help prevent sexual activity are
severed by multiple moves. Loneliness and loss of friendships may lead some
teenagers to use sexual activity to gain social acceptance. These issues should
be considered by parents who are thinking about a possible relocation.

Only one parent in the household. Parenting was meant to be a team effort,
and some risks will naturally increase when one parent is left to do all the
protecting and monitoring alone. Some studies do indicate that adolescents living
with a single parent are more likely to become sexually active than those living
with both parents. Work and household demands can prevent single parents
from being as involved and attentive as they need and want to be. And the
divorce and desertion that sometimes lead to a one-parent home can make teens
uncertain about the value of marriage as the setting for sexual activity and about
the role of sexuality in parental relationships.

Factors Affecting Adolescents Sexual Behavior

Age
Adolescents all over the world are sexually active, but the age at which they
start having intercourse varies between regions and, within a country, between urban
and rural settings (UNESCO and UNFPA, 1999; Mehta et al., 1999; UNFPA, 1998).
Many authors have documented the strong correlation between age and
sexual
experience (Abraham and Kumar, 1999; Kiragu and Zabin, 1993); as age increases,
the likelihood of participation in sexual activity increases.
Academic performance and education
Some studies stressed on a relationship between the quality of the academic
program or performance and adolescents sexual behavior. The findings of a survey in
Jamaica (Eggleston et al., 1999) found that school attendance as well as academic
performance may be related to early sexual activity and unintended pregnancy.
Exposure to mass media
The explosion of telecommunications across cultural boundaries is influencing
the sexual behavior of young people by providing so called role models.
Socioeconomic Status of Parents
It is generally accepted that the earliest social influence on an individual comes
from the family. An important social correlate of adolescent sexual behavior is the
family environment. Studies in Thailand, Philippines, Kenya and Uganda found
several relevant family characteristics that could affect adolescents sexual behavior,
like parents socioeconomic status, family structure, parents conflict, family
relationships and interactions, and attitudes, values and norms of family members
Living environment
It is commonly seen that family structure has an important influence on sexual behavior.
Parental conflict was found to have a major influence on sexual behavior of female
adolescents in Kenya (Kiragu and Zabin, 1993), as is assumed to exist elsewhere in the
world.

The absence of a congenial atmosphere in the home leads young people to seek
entertainment and pleasure outside the home, often in the wrong company, as they are
still too young to understand or differentiate between the good and the bad among
themselves.

Disease related to premarital sex

Vaginal Infections
Syphilis
Syphilis is at a 40-year high, with about 150,000 new cases every year. Add to that about
3,500 cases of congenital syphilis in babies born to infected mothers. Each year brings a
dramatic increase in both types. Spread mainly by sexual contact, syphilis is one of the
most serious STDs, causing widespread tissue damage. After infection, an individual
with untreated syphilis becomes a carrier, able to infect sexual partners for up to four
years.

Gonorrhea

Over one million new cases of gonorrhea occur annually. Gonorrhea is a serious
bacterial infection that is spread only through sexual contact. The usual incubation
period is two to seven days, but symptoms may not appear for weeks, months, or years.
Up to 80 percent of infected women display no symptoms and unknowingly become
carriers, capable of transmitting gonorrhea to their sexual partners. It's less likely that
infected men will be symptom-free.

Genital Warts (Venereal Warts; Condyloma; HPV)

The extensive human papilloma virus (HPV) family causes genital warts, as well as
warts on fingers and plantar warts on the soles of feet. In the U.S., HPV infection has
reached epidemic proportions, estimated at more than one million new victims each year
and 24 million who now have the disease (as of 1998).
An individual may be infected with HPV viruses and be able to transmit genital warts
sexually long before symptoms develop. Venereal warts often are painless. Ranging
from pinhead size to a quarter inch in diameter, warts may be invisible to the naked eye.
The growths can be raised and bumpy, or flat, or shaped like a tiny cauliflower. Color
may vary from white to gray to pink to brown.

Genital Herpes

Genital herpes is a very contagious viral infection, occurring around the sex organs,
spread almost entirely by sexual contact. Most genital herpes infections are caused by
herpes simplex type 2 virus, which is related to herpes simplex type 1, the virus involved
in chicken pox, fever blisters, and cold sores. (There are other herpes viruses, as well,
that cause other conditions.) Estimates by various agencies range from five to 30 million
individuals in the U.S. who are infected with genital herpes, with at least 300,000 new
cases each year. (Physicians are not required to report the disease.) According to some
studies, 30 to 40 percent of single, sexually active people (as of 1998) are infected.

AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

AIDS was identified in the U.S. and in Europe in 1981. AIDS is caused by the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Once the virus invades the body, it silently begins to
ravage the immune system. The HIV virus invades the bloodstream, attacking white
blood cells, and also cells of the bone marrow, spleen, liver, and lymph glands. These
cells normally manufacture antibodies against disease and cancer, so the HIV-infected
person becomes increasingly vulnerable.

Perception on premarital sex:

As to Reproduction and contraception knowledge
The relationship between reproductive and contraceptive knowledge (RCK) and
contraceptive behavior has been studied extensively in an effort to address coitally
active teenagers' ineffective patterns of contraceptive use. Educators have explored the
relationship between RCK and contraceptive behavior because it is direct and efficient in
terms of instruction and assessment. Unfortunately, providing information to adolescents
on sexual and contraceptive matters does not necessarily assure that they will become
better contraceptors or alter their sexual behavior. Many studies in the early assessment
of the impact of sex education showed that educational programs that focus on facts
about reproduction and contraception could increase knowledge, but demonstrated
inconsistent and inconclusive effects on sexual behavior and increased contraceptive
usage.

.
Sexual and contraceptives knowledge

There exists a "contraceptive gap" among young people. That is, while a
large majority of young males and females become sexually active, there is a
time lapse between the onset of sexual activity and the use of contraceptives. As
a result of this lack of sexual responsibility, there are over 1,000,000 teenage
pregnancies each year in the American society. Although most of these
pregnancies are unwanted and not planned, about 90% of these young females
decide to keep their babies. Hardships are frequently associated by these
women as well as society, since economically disadvantaged mothers will rely on
social welfare to provide for the cost of raising a baby. Based on data collected
from 358 southeastern metropolitan university students, gender differences in
attitudes towards contraceptives are considered

Responsibility related to premarital sex

In our time these days, we have a tendency to live in quick world where
traditional behaviors were replaced by trendy and more aggressive ones. Just
like in teenagers involved in intimate relationships. The traditional way of courting
just like the boy visiting the woman's house as a show of respect isn't anymore
being done. Instead, with the fashionable technology that we are having right
now, courtship is finished through cell phones and the web chatting. As a result of
of these modes of coming into into a relationship, partaking into a more intimate
sexual
relationship
isn't
exhausting
to
obtain.
Teenagers these days are very aggressive than before. Entering in a relationship
at a terribly young age is not anymore the problem here. The most downside is
that how simple for these teenagers to allow up their most priceless possession
which is their virginity, to somebody who isn't even their husband. Some teens
say that it is because of some pressures, pressures from peers and boyfriends.
Television, newspapers, and radio advertisements also are influential to these
teens since having seen, heard, and read these commercials; they became
curios of what really is in having sex. Friends have nice influences in this case,
why? It's because teenagers thought that virginity these days is not a massive
deal anymore. If one remains a virgin before wedding, then they can say that
you're not living within the present. You have been left behind the curtains of the
past. Another pressure is from their boyfriends. Boyfriends might threat them that
if they will not have sex with them they will leave them and look for another
woman who will provide them what they want. How selfish these boyfriends are,
but I cannot blame theme since this is often the truth during this present world.
Reality should be forbidden seriously and carefully

Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of
issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual
reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations,
reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and other
aspects of human sexual behavior. Common avenues for sex education are
parents or caregivers, school programs, and public health campaigns.

Objectives of Sex Education

1. To make affection, sex and love constructive rather than destructive forces
in society.
2. To develop feelings of identity, respect and responsibility as an integral
part of ones own development.
3. To understand and appreciate the sexual side of human nature so that
their own psycho-sexual development may occur as normally as possible.

4. To learn that human sexual behavior is not merely a personal and private
matter but has important social, moral and religious implications.
5. To learn about the dangers of illicit sexual behavior.
6. To emphasize the case of premarital chastity as the sexual standard
approved by our society because chastity provides a positive goal for
teenagers linking human sexual behavior with love, marriage, parenthood
and family life.
7. To open channels of communication between children (students) and their
teachers concerning the meaning, significance and potential values of sex
in human life so that students will find it easier to seek information from
reliable sources rather than relying on hearsay or misconceptions.
8. To understand that boy/girl, man/woman relationship of the right kind can
lead to enjoyment and give meaning to their lives.
9. To develop a healthy, wholesome attitude towards sex in human beings
including respect for their bodies as an integral part of their personality.
10. To appreciate the significance of sexual difference in girls and boys and
male-female sexual roles in our society.
11. To understand how to deal with personal sexual problems such as
menstruation, nocturnal emissions, masturbation and personal hygiene.
12. To learn the key parts and basic concepts of venereal diseases and the
role of teenagers and young adults in the prevention and control of these
important communicable diseases.