The Federal Centre for Health Education’s (BZgA) representative study Youth Sexuality 9th Iteration is a representative repeat survey. A large-scale survey of young people, their parents and young adults was launched for the ninth time in the summer of 2019. It follows on from predecessor studies conducted between 1980 and 2014. The goal of the study is to acquire reliable data about the attitudes and behaviours of young people in the Federal Republic of Germany with regards to sexuality and contraception.
Currently, 28 percent of the adolescents aged 14 to 17 and 82 percent of the young adults aged 18 to 25 say they have had sexual intercourse at least once. For most of the sexually active young people it is happily the case that contraception is the obvious choice from the very first time. This fact sheet presents an overview of the contraceptive behaviour of young people aged 14 to 25. It takes a closer look at their experiences with various contraceptives and the reasons for not using contraception. Contraception serves the avoidance of unwanted pregnancies, which is why this fact sheet focuses on opposite-sex sexual contacts. Whenever this fact sheet mentions sexual intercourse, it is referring to heterosexual intercourse.
Results: An Overview
- More young people are using reliable contraception for their first time – a positive long-term trend.
- Situational and socio-cultural factors play an important role when it comes to first time using contraceptives.
- The most common reason cited for not using contraception for the first time is the surprise factor.
- Condoms are the contraceptive of choice for the first time – and as experience increases, there is often a switch to the pill.
- There has been a marked decline in the use of the contraceptive pill in recent years.
- Almost everyone has heard of emergency contraception by means of the ‘morning-after pill’.
- The responsibility for contraception changes over the course of a person’s sexual life.
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