Let’s say you choose to have sex before marriage. What will you worry about? The number one response is pregnancy. While this is a valid concern, there are so many other possible consequences to consider…ones that may affect more than your physical health, but also your mental, emotional, and social health.
Learning about the possible risks and consequences of sex outside of marriage is not meant to scare you, but to give you the reality of what you are risking by being sexually active before marriage.
Physical Consequences - How sex can affect your body.
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) – The Basics
The United States has the highest rate of STDs in the industrialized world.
Teens age 15-19 account for 50% of all STD cases in the United States.
There are two types of STDs – viral and non-viral (bacterial). Viral STDs are NOT curable and non-viral (bacterial) STDs can be cured with the proper treatments.
STDs can be passed through any type of sexual activity including: intercourse, oral sex, anal sex, touching someone’s genital area, and skin to skin contact in the genital area.
STDs are not like personality flaws; you can’t see them from miles away. Most STDs don’t have any symptoms at all, but many can impact your health for the rest of your life.
This link www.stdwizard.org is an interesting way to find out if you may have an STD or should get tested. Remember that if you have been sexually active, you should get tested anyway. Also, this is just a basic suggestion about your personal situation and not a diagnosis, so if you have any health concerns, please see a doctor.
Despite the fact that teen birth rates have steadily declined over the last decade, the United States has the highest teen birth rate in the world. About 2,000 teen girls get pregnant each day in the US and half of all teen parents drop out of high school.
Do you think, “It couldn’t happen to me.” – Think again!
Legally in the United States there are three options when it comes to pregnancy – parenting, adoption, and abortion – but despite how you might feel about any of those options, do you really want to HAVE to choose one of them? Probably not. Whatever choice you might make, it is a lifelong decision and one that you can’t change.You don’t have to face a pregnancy decision when there is no pregnancy to begin with. Abstinence is the only guarantee that you will not have to deal with an unplanned pregnancy.
Birth control is often suggested as the answer to preventing pregnancy, but the truth is abstinence is the only 100% effective way to prevent pregnancy.
- Among sexually active girls aged 12 – 18 years old, 20% of oral contraceptive users become pregnant over a mere 6 months.
- For people under the age of 18, condoms were found to fail 18.4% of the time after one year.
- The vast majority (78%) of pregnancies among teens are not planned or intended.
Emotional Consequences - How sex can affect your feelings.
- A Broken Heart - Everyone will tell you that a break up is not easy to get over. By adding sex to a relationship, it can only complicate the situation further and make the break up harder.
- Low Self-Esteem - If you are planning to feel better about yourself after sex, think again. If you are in a relationship and having sex, how are you going to feel about yourself if you break up? You may wonder: Was I not good enough? Was I not attractive enough? I gave myself to him/her, and they don’t want me anymore…This sort of rejection is very hurtful and can lead to depression.
- Anger or Bitterness - When you give yourself to someone completely and they betray your trust or break up with you, a common feeling is anger toward the person whom you trusted or thought loved you.
- Guilt - Most teens are given a message to abstain from sex. This message may come from your family, teachers, and/or church. By choosing to engage in sex after being asked to abstain, you may experience feelings of guilt.
Mental Consequences - How sex can affect what you think about.
- Regret - After the break up…after a pregnancy scare…or simply when your conscience kicks in…you could experience serious regrets about having sex.
- Fear - The worry of being pregnant or having caused a pregnancy is a huge burden to bear, not to mention the fear of having or getting an STD.
- Memories - No matter how long ago something happened, you will probably never forget it. Do you really want to be thinking about someone else when you marry the person you love?
- Future Comparisons - Comparing a past boyfriend or girlfriend to a future or current one isn't fair to anyone, yet it could be a possibility if sexual activity is involved.
- Feeling Used - You may be questioning if the person really likes you for you or if they were/are using you for sexual activity.
Social Consequences - How sex can affect relationships.
- Bad Reputation - Avoid the gossip or being the topic of gossip.
- Rumors/Gossip - How long does it take a juicy story to get around your circle of friends? Probably not long. Don’t assume anything is off limits.
- Loss of Friends - Could your friends believe the rumors? Could they be starting them?
- Parental Conflict - Breaking your parents trust can take a long time to repair and may come with serious consequences including lost privileges.
Portions of information on this page graciously provided by Project Reality (www.projectreality.org)