Most sexually active teenagers don't use condoms regularly, a behavior that puts them at risk of sexually transmitted diseases, according to a report in Thursday's USA Today.
Over half, or 53 percent, of teen boys, say they don't always use a condom. Among girls, about two-thirds say a condom isn't always used.
The study focuses only on sexually active teens, identified as teens who have had sex in the past three months.
The teens and contraception report is expected to be released on Monday by Child Trends, a non-profit research center in Washington, D.C., the newspaper reported. The study analyzed government data on unmarried teens ages 15 through 19, collected in 2002 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
According to the CDC, one in four sexually active teens contracts a STD each year.
The condom use research comes on top of a recent study that found teenage girls often feel pressured into having sex because they are afraid their boyfriend would get angry.
The study, conducted by Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis and published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found that 41 percent of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 who were seen at urban health clinics said they’d had unwanted sex at some point.
Because girls who reported unwanted sex also reported less condom use, they were at higher risk of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, the study suggested.