ABSTRACT
PIP: Major topics addressed by this article on adolescent sexuality include adolescent festivals, adolescent reproductive psychophysiology, contraception for adolescents, the World Federation of Contraception and Health, sexually transmitted diseases, and recommendations for research. The purpose of adolescent festivals is to increase communication between young people and their parents on subjects such as sexuality. Of particular concern is the traumatic emotional, physical, and financial impact of adolescent pregnancy, both in developed and developing countries. Contraceptive methods considered to be most appropriate for use in developing countries are injectable Depo-Provera and the Norplant contraceptive implant system. To reduce the problem of adolescent pregnancy, television programs need to portray responsible sexuality, family responsibility and involvement must be strengthended, funds for education and prevention programs should be increased, and there must be more intraprofessional collaboration. The World Federation of Contraception and Health, a nonprofit multicenter institution, has been created to make recommendations on how current resources can be utilized to address problems of adolescent sexuality. Adolescent clubs are being set up to provide adolescents and their families with computer support and information. Another concern is the spread of sexually transmitted diseases that cause infections in the genitourinary tract and threaten to impair future fertility. The incidence of diseases such as chlamydia trachomatis and nongonococcal urethritis is especially high in teenagers. Needed in the future are more multicenter studies conducted by microbiologists, pathophysiologists, family planning experts, epidemiologists, venereologists, gynecologists, obstetricians, and dermatologists on the many aspects of adolescent sexuality.^ieng
