Of US males and females ages 15-19 who have ever had sex, 95 percent had used a condom at least once, according to the latest National Survey of Family Growth conducted by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. However, fear of pregnancy is declining among youth, the report noted. Data were collected through in-person interviews from July 2006 to December 2008 and included responses from 2,767 teens.

Among those who have never married, about 42 percent of females and 43 percent of males reported sexual intercourse at least once, a figure that has not changed significantly since 2002, the report said. After condom use, the withdrawal method (58 percent) was second-most commonly reported, followed by the pill (55 percent).

Condom use at first intercourse increased among never-married male teens, from 71 percent in 2002 to 81 percent. Among never-married female teens, 68 percent used a condom and 15 percent used the pill at first intercourse. Thirty-six percent of males endorsed the belief that condom use would reduce sexual pleasure.

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For teens without sexual experience, the reason most commonly cited was that it was "against religion or morals." For females, avoiding pregnancy and lacking the right partner were the second- and third-most cited reasons for not having sex. Among males, avoiding pregnancy dropped as a reason for abstinence from 25 percent in 2002 to 12 percent in 2006.

"Attitude measures show that most teens are motivated to avoid a pregnancy," the report said. Nonetheless, "The majority of teens, 64 percent of males and 71 percent of females, 'agree' or 'strongly agree' that 'it is okay for an unmarried female to have a child," the survey found.

"The US birth rate for females 15-19 years of age was 42.5 births per 1,000 females in 2007," the report said. "That rate was higher than a number of other developed countries in the world."