Peer pressure — Teens like to talk about sex: who’s doing it, who’s not. The reality is, not everyone is doing it. In a 1999 survey of U.S. high-school teens, only half of ninth through 12th graders reported ever having sex. That’s not everybody.

Partner pressure — One partner in a relationship may put pressure on the other to have sex. Part of your evolving sexuality is learning to say no to any type of sexual activity you don’t want to do.

The media — The media bombards you with unrealistic sexual situations and images. Television shows and movies glorify sex while managing to ignore the risks of unprotected sex. Sex is also used to sell just about everything, even to teens like you.

The body-mind gap — Your body may be ready to have sex but your mind may not. It takes a lot of emotional maturity to deal with a sexual relationship. You just don’t have that maturity at age 13.

The pleasure-reality gap — Your desire for sexual satisfaction may get in the way of good judgment. Example: You have sex without a condom simply because you don’t have a condom nearby. Normally you know to use condoms, but you get so caught up in the heat of the moment that you take the chance of getting pregnant or getting an STD just to satisfy your sexual urge.

Pornography — Pornography is readily available in our society. As an adolescent, you may not have the emotional maturity and perspective to deal with pornographic images.

Sexual abuse — Unfortunately, sexual abuse of children and adolescents is all too common. Sexual abuse can have a tremendously negative impact on your sexuality and on your ability to have a satisfying sexual relationship.

Sexual assault — Sexual assault of adolescents, especially young women, is also common. One type of sexual assault — date rape — has received a lot of attention because of its rising incidence. The physical and psychological effects of sexual assault can be devastating.