Signs of the Times

Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Three of every four reported cases occurred in persons under age 25. Chlamydia is so common in young women that, by age 30, 50% of sexually active women have evidence that they have had chlamydia at some time during their lives.


Nationwide one out of five adolescents and adults have had genital HSV infection.

By the age of 24, one in three sexually active people will have contracted an STI (KFF, 1998).

Percent of population having had first intercourse, by age

Males	Females
25% by age 15	26% by age 15
37% by age 16	40% by age 16

Average age of first intercourse, by gender

Males	Females
16.9	17.4

27% of teenage women using contraceptives choose condoms as their primary method. (AGI, 2002).

18-29 year olds have sex an average of 112 times per year

At the end of 2003, an estimated 1,039,000 to 1,185,000 persons in the United States were living with HIV/AIDS, with 24-27% undiagnosed and unaware of their HIV infection (Glynn & Rhodes, 2005).

Almost 1 million teenage women, 10% of all women aged 15-19 and 19% of those who have had intercourse, become pregnant each year (AGI, 1999).