Private MD News

Group sex represents major STD risk factor for young people

Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The number adolescent girls who participate in group sex experiences is rising, according to a new study, and the researchers say this could lead to increases in the number of individuals who receive positive STD test results.

After surveying 328 females, researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health found that one in 13 teenage girls between the ages of 14 and 20 had experienced a group sex encounter. The results also showed that these young women were more likely to report having sex with a male without using a condom and to have received a positive STD test. The average age for a first group sex experience was 15.6 years.

Despite being such a prominent risk factor for sexually transmitted diseases, the researchers said that multi-person sex has received very little attention from parent groups and public health agencies. This will need to change in order to combat the problem more effectively. 

"It's time for parents, pediatricians, federal agencies, and community-based organizations to sit up, pay attention, and take notice: group sex is happening, and we need to be prepared to address it," said lead researcher Emily Rothman.