Will teenage girls have more sex?

Adolescent girls who are vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that may cause cervical cancer, are not likely to engage in sex more often than adolescent girls who are not vaccinated, according to a study by the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Another study by the same researchers shows that about one in 10 parents is concerned that vaccinating children against HPV will encourage them to have more sex.

In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved the HPV vaccine Gardisil for use in females nine to 26 years old, launching intense debate about inoculating young women against a virus transmitted by sexual contact. "One of the main arguments against vaccinating young women for HPV is that they will somehow compensate for the vaccine's protective nature by having more sex," explains Noel T. Brewer, assistant professor of health behavior and health education, who led both studies. "Our findings say otherwise."

To understand how the HPV vaccine may affect sexual behavior, Brewer studied Lyme disease prevention among individuals who received the vaccine for the tick-borne disease. Brewer indicates that the Lyme disease vaccine is a strong test of how risk perception affects behavior. "We found no evidence of disinhibition, where people started taking greater risks than the general population," he points out.

To evaluate parents' views, Brewer reviewed 28 studies on predictors of HPV vaccine acceptance, and found that six to 12% of parents are concerned that their children will have more sex once they are vaccinated. "For parents, more important considerations for wanting to get the HPV vaccine are a doctor's recommendation, feeling at risk for cervical cancer, and believing that the vaccine is safe and effective," Brewer notes. "Most Americans think adolescent girls should get the vaccine."

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