Participation in High School Sports and Adolescent Sexual Activity

Abstract

Survey data from 1,071 high school students in a large southern city indicated that high school sports participants were more likely to be sexually active than were nonparticipants. This result was true for both males (66% vs. 52%) and females (52% vs. 36%) and was independent of the sport in which the adolescent participated. This finding suggests that high school teams may provide an opportunity for reaching teenagers in need of sex education counseling.