More teens learn about sex education than birth control

While almost all United States teenagers learn sex education in a formal environment, only about 67 percent have received information about birth control, a Center for Disease Control and Prevention report explains.

This report included personal interview information from about 2,800 teenagers between 2006 and 2008. The teens were asked questions at their homes.

About 97 percent claimed to have had formal sex education prior to age 18. For the report, formal sex education was defined as gaining knowledge at school, community centers, church, or similar places that dealt with sex, abstinence, or birth control.

More teens claimed to have knowledge about sexually transmitted infections and abstinence than birth control, including proper condom usage.

Researchers noted 62 percent of boys and 70 percent of girls had received information about birth control before the conclusion of high school and 92 percent had learned about sexual disease and HIV prevention. More than 80 percent of teens claimed to have been taught about abstinence.

The purpose of the report was to create an up-to-date report on sex education and what information students are getting, if any.