Over 6,000 interviewees aged 15-24 were involved in the survey, which found that sexual intercourse among teens had continued its 20-year decline, falling from 51% in 1988 to 43% during the survey period.

Despite this, the rate of sexually transmitted diseases did not show a similar decrease. In fact, the report claims half of all new STDs in 2010 occurred in the 15-24 age group.

The study appears to attribute this to the misperception that oral sex is less risky than vaginal-penile intercourse. As many as one in four American teens engages in oral sex before moving forward to vaginal sex.