Family Facts: Social Science Research on Family, Society & Religion
Top Ten Findings
Teen Sexual Behavior
May 2007
1. Adolescents in intact families are less likely to become sexually active compared to peers in non-intact families Adolescents living with both biological parents were 38% less likely to transition to sexual intercourse when compared to adolescents from all other family structures.
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2. Girls who experienced a parental separation during childhood are more likely to engage in early sexual activity. Women that had experienced their parents’ separation during childhood were more likely to engage in early sexual intercourse. Moreover, the effects of parental separation were dependent on the child’s age at which the separation occurred. Relative to women that lived with both parents from birth to age 18, those whose parents separated when the girls were 0-5 years old were 4 times more likely to engage in sexual activity during adolescence; those whose parents separated when the girls were 6-11 years old were 2.7 times more likely to engage in sexual activity during adolescence; and those whose parents separated when the girls were 12-17 years old were twice as likely to engage in sexual activity during adolescence.
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3. Among girls in intact families, those who report having a close relationship with their fathers are less likely to engage in sexual activity. Among a sample of adolescent virgins from intact two parent families, females who reported having a close relationship with their father during the initial interview were less likely to report having engaged in sexual intercourse during a follow-up interview one year later, when compared to similar females who did not report having a close relationship with their father.
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4. Adolescents whose mothers were teens when they first gave birth are more likely to initiate sexual activity at an early age. In 1995, the percent of adolescents aged 15-19 years that had intercourse before age 15 differed by mother’s age at first birth. 28.4% of girls with mothers that first gave birth before age 20 were sexually active before age 15 compared to 13.5% of girls born to mothers that first gave birth age 20 or over. 29.5% of boys with mothers that first gave birth before age 20 were sexually active before age 15 compared to 16.2% of boys born to mothers that first gave birth age 20 or over.
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5. Youths who pledge to protect their virginity until marriage are more likely to delay sexual activity. The relative risk of sexual initiation of teenagers who pledge formally to protect their virginity until marriage is estimated to be 34 percent lower than nonpledgers.
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6. Youths who receive more adult supervision are less likely to engage in sexual activity. There was a strong relationship between unsupervised time and youths' sexual activity. The greater the amount of unsupervised time, the greater the percentage of youths engaging in intercourse ever and within the previous three months.
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7. Youths who engage in sexual activity are at an increased risk for depression. Engaging in any level of drinking, smoking, sexual activity, or, especially, illegal drug use significantly increased the likelihood that a youth will experience depression, think of suicide, or attempt suicide.
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8. Among teenage boys, those from intact families with frequent religious attendance average the fewest sexual partners. Teen boys from intact families with frequent religious attendance averaged the fewest sexual partners (1.04) when compared to (a) their peers from intact families with low to no religious attendance (2.03), (b) peers from non-intact families with low to no religious attendance (3.14), and (c) peers from non-intact families with frequent religious attendance (3.92).
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9. Teens in intact families are less likely to become pregnant compared to peers in other family structures. Ten percent of the women in the sample reported having a non-marital teen birth; however, the nonmarital teen childbearing rate differed by family structure. The rate of nonmarital teen childbearing was 11.3 percentage points higher for those that lived with a stepfather throughout the high school years when compared to those that lived with two biological parents throughout the high school years. The rate of nonmarital teen childbearing was 14.3 percentage points higher for those that lived in a female headed household throughout the high school years when compared to those that lived with two biological parents throughout the high school years.
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10. Women who were sexually active in their teens are less likely to form and sustain stable marriages. Girls who began sexual activity in their teens have greater difficulty in forming and sustaining stable marriages. Two-thirds of women surveyed who began sexual activity at ages 21-22 were in stable marriages (i.e. had been in the same marriage for more than five years at the time of the survey). By contrast only 27.7 percent of girls who began sexual activity at age 13-14 were in stable marriages.
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Resources
Events:Religious Practice and Civic Life: What the Research Says October 4, 2007 |