STDs are psychological as well as sexual problem in teens, expert cautions

A pediatrician from Michigan State University, Kalamazoo recently told Internal Medicine News that he believes the rate of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among teens is as much a psychological problem as a physical one.

Donald Greydanus said that the young age at which many teens and even children become sexually active means their still-forming brains are partly to blame for risky behavior.

The news source said that most new cases of STDs occur among adolescents and young adults.

Greydanus told the news organization that physicians must ask teens if they are having sex and if they are routinely using protection, adding that healthcare professionals should understand that an adolescent’s psychological development naturally puts them at risk for unwanted pregnancy and STDs.

Teens who contract STDs, become pregnant or engage in risky sexual behavior may require boarding school intervention, since these actions can lead to educational deficits, depression and anxiety.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that youth between the ages of 15 and 24 have four times the gonorrhea infection rate and five times the chlamydia rate of the general U.S. population.