Sex: Almost two-thirds of young people aged 15 to 24 have had sex, although just a quarter of 15 to 17 year-olds have done so, according to the poll.
Of the 25 per cent of 15 to 17 year-olds who have had sex, just half have had more than two sexual partners. The average number of partners with whom the 23 to 24 year-olds have had sex is close to seven, while it is just over three for the 15 to 17 year-olds.
However, 30 per cent of this youngest category have had just one partner, and a further 19 per cent have had just two. Just over 4 per cent of the 15 to 17 age group have had sex with more than four people, while three-quarters haven't had sex at all.
Overall within the 15 to 24 age group, 62 per cent have had sex, 37 per cent have not and 1 per cent declined to answer. While just 25 per cent of the 15 to 17 cohort have had sex, this proportion rises steadily with age.
In the 18 to 19 age group, 68 per cent have had sex, 31 per cent have not and 1 per cent did not say.
In the 20 to 22 group, 78 per cent have had sex, 21 per cent have not and 1 per cent did not answer.
In the 23 to 24 group, 85 per cent have had sex, 14 per cent have not and 1 per cent did not say.
Of those who have had sex by the age of 24, the average age at which they first did so is 16 years and 9 months. For females who have had sex, the average age is just under 17, while for males it is 16 ½.
Those from less well-off backgrounds who have had sex tend to start earlier than the children of the better-off and farmers. The average age at which children in the ABC1 social category who have had sex did so first is 17 years and two months.
Among the children of farmers, the average age is 17 years and four months, while in the C2DE group, 16 years and four months is the average age.
There is no marked difference between the proportion of males and females that has had sex, with 63 per cent of males and 60 per cent of females having done so. However, there is a substantial difference in attitudes to when sex is right.
Some 43 per cent of males believe sex is OK on the first date, 53 per cent disagree and 4 per cent did not answer. In contrast, among females just 16 per cent agree that sex is OK on the first date, 81 per cent disagree and 3 per cent did not answer.
Of those who have had sex, 58 per cent say their parents know, 39 per cent that they do not and 3 per cent did not answer. In the 15 to 17 category, just 36 per cent say their parents know, 60 per cent that they do not and 4 per cent did not say. The level of parental knowledge rises steadily with age - to the point where, among 23 to 24 year-olds who have had sex, 67 per cent of their parents know, 30 per cent do not and 3 per cent did not answer.
Young people from large households are less likely to have had sex than those in smaller ones. Among those living in households containing just two people, for example, 87 per cent have had sex. The percentage who have had sex falls to 63 per cent among young people living in four-person households, 56 per cent in six-person households and 53 per cent in households containing eight or more people.
The vast majority of those who have had sex report that they normally use contraceptives. Some 89 per cent say they do, 9 per cent do not and 2 per cent gave no answer. Use of contraceptives rises with age from 84 per cent of 15 to 17 year-olds who have had sex to 93 per cent of 23 to 24 year-olds who have done so.
Some 94 per cent of females say they normally use contraceptives, while 84 per cent of males do so. Contraceptive use is also higher among the better-off ABC1 group (93 per cent) and farmers (95 per cent) than among the less well-off C2DE group (85 per cent). Some 73 per cent use contraceptives as a barrier both to pregnancy and to sexual diseases. Some 16 per cent use them solely as a barrier to pregnancy with 5 per cent using them solely as a barrier to sexual diseases.