Teen drinkers more likely to have sex U.S. study

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Reuter) Teenagers who drink heavily are more
likely to have sex than teens who do not drink, whatever their gender
or ethnic group, a study released Friday said. Researchers from the
University of Florida, Michigan State University and the University
of Wisconsin surveyed more than 15,000 students between the ages of
12 and 17 in Michigan public schools in spring and fall 1994. They
found that heavy alcohol use tripled the likelihood of teenage
sexual activity for white males, doubled it for Hispanic males and
increased it by 18 percent for black males. For all females,
regardless of ethnicity, alcohol use was the only risk factor that
increased the probability of sexual activity by 10 percent or more.
Research shows alcohol lowers inhibitions and interferes with
people's ability to make sound decisions based on logic and thought,
Daniel Perkins, a University of Florida professor who was one of the
researchers, said in a statement. ``If you're both drinking alcohol
and a little out of it, (sex) might seem like the right thing to
do,'' he said. The study also found a significantly higher proportion
of black teenage males were sexually active (79 percent) than
Hispanic males (54 percent) and white males (37 percent). Similarly,
black teenage females were more likely to be sexually active (57
percent) than their Hispanic (38 percent) and white (33 percent)
counterparts. Perkins said sexual activity might involve less of a
social stigma for African Americans than for adolescents in other
cultures. The researchers said alcohol was a more important factor
for all groups of teenagers than variables such as church attendance
or viewing God as unimportant in one's life. ^REUTER@