Recent news reports that one in 4 four girls nationwide has a sexually transmitted disease shocked many people. But should we be that concerned? Poynter's Al Tomkinps gives an interesting point of view in Al's Morning Meeting.
Here's an excerpt from his column: The finding was released [in March] at a big STD prevention conference in Chicago. (
See the report.)
At least one in four teenage girls nationwide
has a sexually transmitted disease, or more than 3 million teens,
according to the first study of its kind in this age group.
A
virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually
transmitted infection in teen girls aged 14 to 19, while the highest
overall prevalence is among black girls -- nearly half the blacks
studied had at least one STD. That rate compared with 20 percent among
both whites and Mexican-American teens, the study from the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] found.
The study that has been so widely reported nationwide was based on a survey of 838 girls, aged 14 to 19, who took part
in a 2003-04 government health survey. The analysis was conducted by CDC researcher Dr. Sara Forhan.
Is
838 a large enough sample to draw national conclusions with the
authority that media are stating? Is there no margin of error here?
Shouldn't the stats be put in some perspective?
In the U.S., 1 in 4 sexually active teens become infected with an STD
every year. Some common STDs are chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital warts
(also known as HPV -- human papillomavirus), and herpes. (Facts in
Brief: Teen Sex and Pregnancy, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York,
1996).
