Study finds teenagers more apt to use condoms than older adults

Teenagers and young people are more likely to use condoms than older individuals, according to findings published in the Journal of Sexual Health.

Recently, researchers from the University of Indiana and the Center for Sexual Health Promotion surveyed more than 5,300 people aged 14 to 94 years about their sexual behavior and condom use, according to the Agence France-Presse.

The results showed that 79 percent of teenage boys had used a condom during the last 10 times they had sex, while 58 percent of teenage girls reported use during the same time frame. However, during the same number of experiences, only one in five older men said they used a condom. Furthermore, only one in four older women reported condom use.

Michael Reece, director of the center and lead author of the study, stated that "we may need to re-educate older people because as their relationships end or their partners die, if they're dating and have multiple partners, there may be no danger of pregnancy, but the STD risk is certainly present."

Individuals who have unprotected sex could be putting themselves and their partners at a higher risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), including HIV. For example, in 2008, more than 14,000 Americans aged 40 to 54 residing in 37 states were estimated to have HIV, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.