Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 September 2011
For those interested in the patterns of adolescent fertility there is a lesson to be learned from the story about the Emperor's new clothes (Andersen, 1913). The problems, or lack of them, present themselves as starkly as the Emperor's, yet there is a tendency not to face the fact that in certain societies adolescent sexuality can create problems. The vast majority of parents, health personnel and policy makers seem to prefer to ignore what can be readily perceived. Conversely, in many areas of the world, there may be a tendency to announce the existence of problems which do not exist.