Sex Survey Finds Opinions Split Along Age, Gender Lines Health Board Examines Results Of Quiz

Spokane teens first have sex at 15 or 16, in the back seats of cars or in their parents’ homes after 9 p.m. They listen more to their peers about sex than to their parents.

At least, those are the opinions of people who responded to the Spokane Regional Health District’s first sexual attitudes and beliefs survey. The unscientific survey raised eyebrows at health board meetings earlier this year.

On Thursday, board members looked at the results of the quiz, which tackled what people think about teenage sexual behavior, sexually transmitted diseases and premarital sex.

People responded along gender and age lines, with older people responding conservatively and younger people responding more liberally.

“The Spokane community is very interested in abstinence education,” observed board member Lynn Schindler, who voted against sending out the survey in April and pushed strongly the idea of abstinence at Thursday’s meeting.

The Spokane community also is very interested in birth control. Indeed, the survey results were chock full of contradictions.

The survey paints a picture of people who know about sex and don’t need more information. Women said they were more comfortable than men talking about sex with children. But neither sex was comfortable talking about masturbation.

Many people didn’t know that teens older than 14 can get birth control without parental permission. A lot of people didn’t know places in Spokane provide low-cost testing for sexually -transmitted diseases.

Almost half the women responding thought young women get pregnant to get unconditional love from their babies, compared to about one-fifth of the men.

Some of the respondents’ perceptions were just plain wrong - for instance, most teens haven’t had sex by 15 or 16.

The survey, mailed to 5,000 randomly selected households the first week of June, was filled out and returned by 722 people. They were mostly over 30, mostly women, mostly married and mostly religious.

The survey, estimated to cost almost $6,000, grew out of a plan to fight teen pregnancy. Community members developed the survey in January using questions from other national, state and local surveys.

With the help of the survey, district staff members hope to fill gaps in people’s knowledge of sex, teen pregnancy and disease. Spokane’s teen pregnancy rate is higher than the national average. In 1995, about 75 teens in 1,000 became pregnant in Spokane County. Nationally, about 57 in 1,000 teens became pregnant.

For such a controversial subject, board members’ reactions were tepid Thursday.

“I’m a little bit surprised,” said Health Officer Dr. Kim Thorburn after the meeting. “There was way less discussion than I expected.”

Some board members were concerned that the survey didn’t reach many teenagers - only 17 of the respondents were under 20.

The survey results will be posted on the health district’s Internet site today. Copies eventually will be available to the public. The data will be massaged, and programs will be developed with the help of the community.

Staff members plan to study contradictions in the data.

Most adults said teenagers should be able to get birth control without anyone’s permission and should use birth control if they’re having sex and don’t want children.

But most people thought birth control shouldn’t be available in high schools, except for people under 30, who favored birth control in high schools.

Most people thought schools weren’t doing enough to encourage abstinence.

Many also said parents didn’t know how to provide their children with the education they need to make informed decisions about sex.

People without children overwhelmingly thought sex education shouldn’t be taught in high school. But parents with children between 11 and 19 said high schools should teach sex education.

Regardless, most people agreed that sex education didn’t encourage teens to have sex.

“Both of our daughters have frequently used the Planned Parenthood clinic after high school,” a woman with three children in their 20s wrote in the survey. “Our son has likewise been responsible. We very strongly believe in sex education in the schools and support health clinics and Planned Parenthood facilities!”

But one person wrote: “Sex education in schools has unwittingly become sex endorsement.”

The vast majority of respondents said a sex education program in schools that covers decision-making skills, relationships, abstinence and birth control works to help teens make responsible choices.

“If they’re not giving it at home, they don’t want it in school. But they say it works. Where does that leave us?” asked Lyndia Vold, program supervisor for the district’s Health Education/Health Promotion division.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 graphics: 1. Spokane County sex survey 2. Who responded?