PIP: This fact sheet presents statistics on adolescent sexual activity in the US and a brief description of comprehensive sex education and abstinence-only programs. The statistical profile indicates that over 50% of teenagers are virgins until at least 17 years of age. 20% of boys and 24% of girls are virgins by the age of 20 years. Only 6.9% of men 18-59 years old and 21% of women 18-59 years old were still virgins on their wedding night. However, among a sample of high school students, over 33% of male and female virgins had engaged in some form of heterosexual genital sexual activity in the preceding year. 29% of virgins had masturbated a partner of the opposite gender. 31% had been masturbated by a partner of the opposite gender. 9% had engaged in fellatio with ejaculation with a partner of the opposite gender. 10% had engaged in cunnilingus with a partner of the opposite gender. 1% had engaged in anal intercourse with a partner of the opposite gender. Comprehensive sex education aims to help adolescents postpone sexual intercourse until they are ready for mature relationships by helping them develop interpersonal skills to resist premature sexual involvement. Messages include information about sexual abstinence, contraception, and safer sex. A 1993 study found that sexual abstinence messages were one of the most frequently covered topics in state curricula and guidelines. Other key topics were families, decision making, and sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS. The least covered topics were sexual identity, shared sexual behavior, sexual response, masturbation, and abortion. There were only six studies of abstinence-only programs, of which at least two showed no impact on sexual or contraceptive behavior. The National Institute of Health says that abstinence-only programs ignore the success of other programs and conflict with science.