UK sees sharp fall in teen pregnancy

British teenagers increasingly prefer socializing with their families and spending time online over having sexual relationships, according to a report by The British Pregnancy Advisory Service.

The study shows that the current generation of teenagers are more focused on their education and future careers and want to avoid pregnancy.

The survey of 1,000 teenagers, aged 16-18, also found they were drinking much less. The BPAS said this may explain the sharp fall in teen pregnancies in the United Kingdom since 2007.

Two-thirds of those surveyed said they had never had sex. And 24 percent said they had never drunk alcohol.

More than 80 percent of those surveyed said performing well in exams or succeeding in their chosen career was a top priority. Some 68 percent said spending time with friends was a top priority.

Young people were also more likely to view time with their family as of higher importance than time with their friends.

And many said work and study commitments meant organizing time to see friends was difficult.

But daily diaries filled in by teenagers as part of the survey also reveal they are spending an average of almost five hours online every day for non-work or study reasons.

Less than a quarter of those surveyed spoke to their friends face-to-face as frequently as they spoke to them online - and 70 percent spoke to them online four times a week or more.

The researchers suggest young people who regularly socialize face-to-face with their friends or partners are more likely to be sexually active.

A BBC report said teenage pregnancy rates have been dropping for 20 years across all nations of the UK after a government strategy was introduced to tackle some of the highest rates in Western Europe.

The strategy, which led to better access to contraception and more sex education in schools and clinics, lasted 10 years - but rates have continued to fall, by 50 percent since 2007.

In 1969, the conception rate was 47 per 1,000 young women aged 15-17, and in 2016, it was just 18.9.

BPAS head of policy research Katherine O'Brien said the government's plan for mandatory relationships and sex education in schools from September 2019 could bring down teenage conception rates even further if it is comprehensive enough.

jonathan@mail.chinadailyuk.com

(China Daily 07/20/2018 page11)