More than quarter of young men, women in US are still virgins

An official study has found that more than a quarter of young men and women in America are still virgins.

Rising numbers of young Americans are abstaining from sex. Some 29 per cent of females and 27 per cent of males aged 15 to 24 said they had not had any sexual contact.

The figures have increased from 22 per cent for both sexes in 2002, when the large-scale research was previously carried out.

Experts said the National Survey of Family Growth findings showed a "backlash" against the ladette culture of the 1990s in which women thought they could have casual sex like men.ut they also indicate a resurgence of conservative values, as shown by the success of the Tea Party in last year's mid-term elections.

Survey Details.