Beyond Age at First Sex: Patterns of Emerging Sexual Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.09.006

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 50, Issue 5, May 2012, Pages 456-463

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.09.006 Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

Although the emergence of sexual expression during adolescence and early adulthood is nearly universal, little is known about patterns of initiation.

Methods

We used latent class analysis to group 12,194 respondents from waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) into one of five classes based on variety, timing, spacing, and sequencing of oral-genital, anal, and vaginal sex. Multinomial logistic regression models, stratified by biological sex, examined associations between sociodemographic characteristics and class membership.

Results

Approximately half of respondents followed a pattern characterized predominately by initiation of vaginal sex first, average age of initiation of approximately 16 years, and spacing of >1 year between initiation of the first and second behaviors; almost one-third initiated sexual activity slightly later but reported first experiences of oral-genital and vaginal sex within the same year. Classes characterized by postponement of sexual activity, initiation of only one type of behavior, or adolescent initiation of anal sex were substantially less common. Compared with white respondents, black respondents were more likely to appear in classes characterized by initiation of vaginal sex first. Respondents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to be in classes distinguished by early/atypical patterns of initiation.

Conclusions

A small number of typical and atypical patterns capture the emergence of sexual behavior during adolescence, but these patterns reveal complex associations among different elements of emerging sexuality that should be considered in future research.

Section snippets

Patterns of Early Sexual Behavior: Variety, Timing, Spacing, and Sequencing

The correlates of first vaginal sex are arguably the most widely studied aspect of adolescent sexuality [1]. However, exclusive focus on vaginal sex is inconsistent with cross-sectional research indicating substantial variety in adolescent sexual expression. Data from the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family Growth indicate that approximately 48% of males and 45% of females ages 15-19 years have engaged in oral-genital sex with an opposite-sex partner, and approximately 11% of females and 10% of

The Present Study

Our primary aim was to describe typical and atypical patterns of early sexual development in a nationally representative sample of adolescents. We used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify these patterns, making no assumptions about the relative intimacy of different behaviors or the linearity of sexual patterns. Our secondary aim, after identifying classes, was to document sociodemographic differences in class membership.

Data

We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative study of approximately 20,000 adolescents in the United States in grades 7–12 in 1994–1995. The Add Health design has been described in detail elsewhere [16]. To date, four waves of data collection have followed respondents from adolescence into adulthood. The present analysis used data from Wave I (N = 20,745; ages 11–21 years; response rate = 78.9%) and Wave IV (N = 15,701; ages

Sample characteristics

Table 1 presents sociodemographic characteristics of our analytical sample. Overall, the average age of initiation was just over 16 years. Approximately equal percentages of respondents reported that they initiated vaginal sex first (39%) or initiated vaginal and oral-genital sex within the same year (41%). Six percent of respondents reported engaging in only one type of sexual behavior; the majority initiated a second behavior within 2 years. Almost 43% of respondents reported having engaged

Discussion

This is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine emergent sexual patterns in a nationally representative U.S. sample on the basis of variety, timing, sequencing, and spacing of first experiences of oral-genital, anal, and vaginal sex. Using LCA, we identified five distinct behavioral profiles that explained over 80% of the variance in these indicators. Just less than half of all respondents followed a pattern characterized predominately by initiation of vaginal sex before oral-genital or

Limitations

Strengths of this analysis include use of a nationally representative and sociodemographically diverse sample, inclusion of both coital and noncoital behaviors, and attention to other elements of sexual development beyond just the timing of the first coital experience. However, our reliance on retrospective self-reported data entails several limitations. Particularly for older respondents who initiated sexual activity at an early age, recall of ages of initiation may be inaccurate. (In

Conclusions

Past research on adolescent sexuality has revealed little about how partnered sexual activity unfolds. By simultaneously examining timing, sequencing, spacing, and variety of behaviors, we were able to more completely describe patterns of emerging sexuality among U.S. adolescents. This work contributes to growing interest in the full repertoire of adolescent sexual and romantic experiences, the processes by which these behaviors interact with biological, psychological, and social factors to

Acknowledgments

This research uses data from Add Health, a program project directed by Kathleen Mullan Harris and designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and funded by grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations. Special acknowledgment is due Ronald R. Rindfuss and Barbara Entwisle for

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Citation Excerpt :
Another found about half of individuals followed a pattern of sexual initiation in which they first engaged in vaginal intercourse, followed by initiation of another behavior at least one year later. However, 32% of individuals initiated both vaginal intercourse and another behavior within a year in adolescence, whereas less than 10% of individuals belonged to classes marked by engaging in only vaginal intercourse, delaying sex until young adulthood, or early initiation of sexual behaviors, including oral sex [16]. Sexual behaviors differ by demographic subgroup.
Due to its long-term longitudinal design, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) has provided numerous valuable insights into adolescent and young adult sexual behavior. Framed by a conceptual model of sexual behavior and health, I review research using Add Health data to study sexual behavior and health. In this paper, I review research examining both predictors (e.g., neighborhood, family, genetic, individual) and health outcomes (e.g., sexually transmitted infections, mental health) of sexual behavior in adolescents and young adults. Where possible, I focus on long-term longitudinal studies that make use of the unique strengths of the Add Health data. Existing Add Health research has provided considerable information about both the predictors and health consequences of adolescent and young adult sexual behavior. Factors ranging from neighborhoods to genetics predict whether adolescent and young adults engage in sexual behaviors. Findings on long-term outcomes of adolescent sexual behavior suggest that early sexual behavior predicts higher rates of sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy in young adulthood, but not long-term changes to mental health. Unique contributions of Add Health include the ability to examine multidimensional bio-ecological predictors of sexual behavior and to examine long-term effects of sexual behavior and how sexual behaviors and their correlates change across adolescence into adulthood. Future work can leverage these strengths, and in particular the long-term longitudinal nature of the data, to uncover new insights about the developmental course of sexual behavior and health.
Teen Girls' Reproductive Attitudes and the Timing and Sequencing of Sexual Behaviors
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Teen girls consider not only health outcomes, such as pregnancy or contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI), but also social outcomes, such as guilt or embarrassment, when making decisions about sexual behaviors.
Following a sample of female virgins aged 15–18 years from wave I through wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 2,376), we tested whether adolescent girls' attitudes toward sex, contraception, pregnancy, and STIs influence the timing of coital debut, using discrete time event history logistic regression, and whether oral sex precedes coital debut, using logistic regression.
Concerns about negative social consequences of sex were associated with later coital debut (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=.79, p = .000), whereas perceived physical benefits of sex and positive attitudes toward contraception were associated with earlier coital debut (AOR = 1.09, p = .049 and AOR = 1.17, p = .002, respectively). Worries about pregnancy were not associated with the timing of coital debut but did predict having oral sex before vaginal sex (AOR = 1.33, p = .007). Favorable birth control attitudes and positive attitudes toward sex also increased the odds of oral sex before vaginal sex (AOR = 1.38, p = .008 and AOR = 1.47, p = .000, respectively).
Teen girls' worries about the emotional and social consequences of sex may be a more salient predictor of the timing of coital debut than concerns about the risk of pregnancy or STIs. Teen girls' fears coexist with positive views about sex and contraception, which are associated with earlier sex and sexual sequencing.
Partnered Intimate Activities in Early Adolescence—Findings From the UK Millennium Cohort Study
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Little is known about potential influences on emerging partnered intimate behaviors in early adolescence. We investigate (1) the prevalence of partnered intimate activities and (2) associations with social relationships, parental monitoring and supervision, health behaviors, and psychosocial well-being.
We used population-based data from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study on 11,079 participants aged 14 years. Partnered intimate activities were grouped into three categories: “light” (handholding, kissing, and cuddling); “moderate” (touching and fondling under clothes); and “heavy” (oral sex and sexual intercourse). Multinomial logistic regression models were used.
Thirty percent of study participants reported not engaging in partnered intimate activity. Fifty-eight percent reported “light,” 7.5 percent “moderate,” and 3.2 percent “heavy” activity. Associated with increased likelihood (adjusted relative risk ratios [RRRs]) of intimate activities were confiding worries in a friend (light RRR = 2.13, moderate RRR = 3.42, heavy RRR=5.32), low parental monitoring—staying out late or overnight (late: light RRR = 1.62, moderate RRR = 2.44, heavy RRR = 2.32; overnight: light RRR = 1.57, moderate RRR = 1.94, heavy RRR = 3.38), health-damaging behaviors (per unit increase: light RRR = 1.91, moderate RRR = 3.15, heavy RRR = 5.03), and depressive symptoms (per scale point increase light RRR = 1.03, moderate RRR = 1.09, heavy RRR = 1.11). Confiding in a parent was associated with lower likelihood of intimate activity (light RRR = .82, moderate RRR = .65, heavy RRR = .65).
Partnered intimate activity of some form is commonplace among 14-year-olds in the United Kingdom. Given the short- and long-term implications of adolescent sexual development and well-being, improving our understanding of influences could help identify opportunities for interventions with benefits across the lifecourse.
Adolescent sexual norms and college sexual experiences: Do high school norms influence college behavior?
2019, Advances in Life Course Research
Research on adolescent and young adult sexuality typically does not examine how social norms and other messages learned in adolescence may impact sexual behavior in emerging adulthood. This research uses a life course framework to examine how social norms about sexuality in high school influence subsequent sexual behavior within university cultures promoting casual sex. Forty-five semi-structured interviews were conducted with undergraduate women on a large public Western United States university campus. Women were asked about family, peer, school, and community norms about sexuality in adolescence, and their sexual and romantic relationships in college. Five groups of women emerged from the data: the Religious, the Relationship Seekers, the High School Partiers, the Late Bloomers, and the Career Women. Women within each group had similar normative backgrounds and also utilized similar strategies to integrate into cultures of casual sex on their University campus. It is concluded that social norms from adolescence have striking implications for sexual behavior in the college setting, and that research on sexuality must adopt a life course perspective that acknowledges women’s previous normative environments in order to understand women’s sexual behavior in college.
Female Age at First Sexual Intercourse by Rural–Urban Residence and Birth Cohort
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Citation Excerpt :
Further studies are needed to determine if initiation of oral and/or anal sex relate to timing of vaginal intercourse by rural–urban status, and if this has changed over time. A number of studies also assessed age at first sex among both males and females (Abma & Martinez, 2017; Cavazos-Rehg et al., 2009; Finer & Philbin, 2013, 2014; Haydon et al., 2012; Manlove et al., 2009; Martinez & Abma, 2015). They found that males generally had a higher prevalence of sexual initiation during adolescence compared with females, although males had a higher median age at first sex.
Previous studies have examined timing of sexual initiation in the United States, but little is known about rural–urban differences in age at first sex.
We used female respondent data from the National Survey of Family Growth (n = 29,133; 2006–2010 and 2011–2017) to examine age at first vaginal sex with a male partner. We used the Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox proportional hazard analyses to assess differences in age at first sex by rural–urban residence, overall and stratified by 5-year birth cohorts (1968–1997). Models were adjusted for respondent characteristics and accounted for complex survey design.
Overall, rural women experienced first sex earlier compared with urban women (hazard ratio [HR], 1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–1.29). By age 18, 62% of rural women had experienced first sex, compared with 54% of urban women. After adjustment for respondent characteristics, HRs were attenuated, but rural women were still more likely to have experienced first sex compared with urban women (HR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01–1.13). In unadjusted models, rural women were more likely to have experienced first sex compared with urban women for most birth cohorts (HRs ranged from 1.14 to 1.32); for only one cohort (1988–1992) was this association found in the adjusted analysis (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.09–1.39).
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Original articleBeyond Age at First Sex: Patterns of Emerging Sexual Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Patterns of Early Sexual Behavior: Variety, Timing, Spacing, and Sequencing

The Present Study

Data

Sample characteristics

Discussion

Limitations

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Dev Rev

J Adolesc Health

Contraception

J Adolesc Health

J Adolesc Health

Sexual Behavior, Sexual Attraction, and Sexual Identity in the United States: Data From the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family Growth

Predictive relationship between adolescent oral and vaginal sex: Results from a prospective, longitudinal study

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med

Prevalence and correlates of heterosexual anal and oral sex in adolescents and adults in the United States

J Infect Dis

Race differences in the timing of adolescent intercourse

Am Sociol Rev

Predictors of early initiation of vaginal and oral sex among urban young adults in Baltimore, Maryland

Arch Sex Behav

Sexual trajectories during adolescence: Relation to demographic characteristics and sexual risk

Arch Sex Behav

Coital and non-coital sexual behaviors of white and black adolescents

Am J Public Health

One hundred years of knowing: The changing science of adolescence, 1904 and 2004

J Res Adolesc

Romantic relationships from adolescence to young adulthood: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

Sociol Q

Original article
Beyond Age at First Sex: Patterns of Emerging Sexual Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adulthood