Early Adolescent Sexual Activity: A Developmental Study

Abstract

This developmental study uses event history analysis to investigate the effects of established predictors of early coitus on a sample of 457 rural European American adolescents who experienced sexual intercourse for the first time in the 8th 9th or 10th grade. Analyses were run for separate variables to isolate change in individual predictors across time when controlling only for the effects of family structure pubertal development and gender. The significant main effects for early intercourse and interactions with gender and grade level were then entered into a final model to assess the relative strength of each predictor when controlling for other significant factors. Results indicate a significant decrease in the effect of mother monitoring by the 10th grade. Depressed affect increased the likelihood of early intercourse among young women but not young men. Results for the full model suggest that when controlling for all other influences the primary predictors of early intercourse were age opportunity (being in steady relationship) sexually permissive attitudes association with delinquent peers and alcohol use.