Sexual health knowledge can have a significant impact on health care–seeking behaviors of adults. The period of life known as
emerging adulthood—defined as the time between 18 and 25 years of age—is a transitional phase of development when young people typically move from being under the care and guidance of their parents to college or employment.
1 For many individuals, emerging adulthood is a time when they begin to take responsibility for their own health; however, this stage also coincides with a peak in risky behaviors.
2-4 These behaviors include unprotected sex, engaging in substance use or abuse, and risky driving behaviors, such as driving at high speeds or driving while intoxicated.
3,4 Approximately 39% of high schoolers report ever having sexual intercourse.
5 Emerging adult populations who are sexually active are at risk for a variety of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. The CDC estimates that persons aged 15 to 24 years make up just over one-fourth of the sexually active population; however, only 50% report being tested for STIs, even though they account for half of the 20 million new STIs that occur in the United States each year.
6 The rate of STIs in the United States has increased exponentially from 2013 to 2017.
7 Reported cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and primary and secondary syphilis increased for both sexes in persons aged 15 to 19 years and persons aged 20 to 24 years from 2012 to 2016.
8 The latest data showed the highest rates of infection ever recorded. In a press release by the CDC, preliminary data show that the number of diagnoses of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis were collectively up 31% in 2017, and there is concern that gonorrhea is increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
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