10 Reasons to Say No to Having Sex

Say "No" to Sex: 10 Good Reasons

Here are some questions you need to ask yourself before you say yes to sex:

1. Why am I considering having sex?
According to Dr. Mary Bruggeman, head of Dana Point Counseling Center in Dana Point, California, teens often enter into sexual relationships for the wrong reasons. "Some teens feel that everyone else is having sex, and something must be wrong with them if they're not." Studies have also shown that during the teen years females tend to have sex for more emotional reasons; to establish an intimate bond, to get closer, to show her love and to be loved in return. The same studies tell us that males often have sex to impress their friends, prove their manhood, or boost their egos.

The following comments from teens who wish that they had waited to have sex support these claims:

"I thought sex would bring us closer. I thought I was 'in love.' Besides, he dwelled on it so much that I thought he would let up if I said yes just once." - Lisa, 16

"I thought I loved him and that it was the right time for us to have sex. I really thought sex would make our relationship better." - Alice, 16

"I was in love—I thought he was in love with me." - Rose, 17

"I was curious more than anything else." - Ben, 18

"Sex was the ‘manly' thing to do." - Allen, 15