Oral sex among adolescents: is it sex or is it abstinence?

According to accumulated data from nationally representative surveys on levels of adolescent sexual activity it has become increasingly clear that adolescents sexual activities have gone beyond vaginal intercourse and comprises noncoital behavior. Drawing on interviews and correspondence with roughly two dozen adolescents and health professionals this report explores the consequences of adolescents sexual activities focusing on oral sex as opposed to other noncoital behaviors. It also reviews the limited information on adolescents experiences with oral sex and looks at the even smaller body of evidence on what young people consider to be sex or abstinence. Moreover implications of this report for the framing of research and evaluation efforts for sexuality and abstinence education and for clinical care of sexually transmitted diseases are given.