TY - JOUR
T1 - Ten years of longitudinal research on U.S. adolescent sexual behavior
T2 - Developmental correlates of sexual intercourse, and the importance of age, gender and ethnic background
AU - Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J.
AU - Helfand, Mark
N1 - Funding Information:
Portions of this review were funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Contract No. 290-97-0018, Task Order No. 7. Preventing Violence and Health Risking Social Behaviors in Adolescents and through support from the Griffith Psychological Health Research Centre. Thank you to Patty Davies at Oregon Health and Sciences University for her extremely valuable assistance with literature searching. Appreciation also is extended to Dr. Nancy Carney and Dr. Hugo de Coudray for our energetic conversations about adolescent behaviors and procedures for reviewing evidence, to Dr. Sharon Horne and Melissa Faulkner for reviewing table content, and to Dr. Ellen Skinner for comments on an earlier draft. We also thank the editor and three anonymous reviewers for stimulating comments that improved this manuscript.
PY - 2008/6
Y1 - 2008/6
N2 - We integrated findings from 35 recent, longitudinal studies of the onset of heterosexual intercourse. Correlates of adolescent sexual intercourse onset, whether in early (before age 16) or middle (ages 16-18) adolescence, included living with other than two biological parents, being less monitored by parents, having more advanced physical maturity and more involvement in dating behavior, and having more permissive attitudes toward sex. When studies were organized by age of participants, the onset of intercourse was more strongly associated with alcohol use, delinquency, school problems and (for girls) depressive symptoms in Early studies (sexual intercourse by age 15 or before only) than was found in studies classified as Middle (assessment of sexual intercourse up to age 18) or Late (knowledge of those who delayed until after age 18). Although more research is needed, additional factors were associated with delaying first sexual intercourse until after age 18, including religious attitudes and anxiety, with some factors more relevant for girls and some more applicable to boys. In total, the evidence suggests there are many similarities, but also some important differences, in the correlates associated with early versus middle versus later onset of sexual intercourse. This seems to signify more than one pathway (set of distal and proximal correlates) associated with sexual behavior during adolescence that should be tested in future research. Throughout the review, we highlight differences in the correlates of girls' versus boys' sexual intercourse and how race/ethnicity moderates associations. These gender and racial/ethnic differences were found largely in analyses of family processes, school and religion, and parent education. We end by summarizing several priority areas for future research.
AB - We integrated findings from 35 recent, longitudinal studies of the onset of heterosexual intercourse. Correlates of adolescent sexual intercourse onset, whether in early (before age 16) or middle (ages 16-18) adolescence, included living with other than two biological parents, being less monitored by parents, having more advanced physical maturity and more involvement in dating behavior, and having more permissive attitudes toward sex. When studies were organized by age of participants, the onset of intercourse was more strongly associated with alcohol use, delinquency, school problems and (for girls) depressive symptoms in Early studies (sexual intercourse by age 15 or before only) than was found in studies classified as Middle (assessment of sexual intercourse up to age 18) or Late (knowledge of those who delayed until after age 18). Although more research is needed, additional factors were associated with delaying first sexual intercourse until after age 18, including religious attitudes and anxiety, with some factors more relevant for girls and some more applicable to boys. In total, the evidence suggests there are many similarities, but also some important differences, in the correlates associated with early versus middle versus later onset of sexual intercourse. This seems to signify more than one pathway (set of distal and proximal correlates) associated with sexual behavior during adolescence that should be tested in future research. Throughout the review, we highlight differences in the correlates of girls' versus boys' sexual intercourse and how race/ethnicity moderates associations. These gender and racial/ethnic differences were found largely in analyses of family processes, school and religion, and parent education. We end by summarizing several priority areas for future research.
KW - Adolescent development
KW - Dating
KW - Family
KW - Longitudinal research
KW - Peers
KW - Relationships
KW - Sexual behavior
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=42949165050&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=42949165050&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.dr.2007.06.001
DO - 10.1016/j.dr.2007.06.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:42949165050
SN - 0273-2297
VL - 28
SP - 153
EP - 224
JO - Developmental Review
JF - Developmental Review
IS - 2
ER -