First sexual intercourse: age, coercion, and later regrets reported by a birth cohort
Dickson, N.; Paul, C.; Herbison, P.; Silva, P.
Bmj 316(7124): 29-33
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0959-8138 PMID: 9451263 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.316.7124.29Document Number: 271047
Age at first intercourse and surrounding factors were analyzed in respondents in the Dunedin (New Zealand) Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study--a longitudinal study of a cohort of 1037 young people born in 1972-73. 935 (92%) of the 1020 survivors of the original cohort completed a questionnaire on their sexual behavior and attitudes. 421 females (92%) and 419 males (88%) had had heterosexual intercourse; for 32% of females and 28% of males, this event occurred before 15 years of age. The mean age at first coitus was 16 years for females and 17 years for males. 77% of males, compared with 53% of females, reported they and their partner were "equally willing" at first intercourse. Mutual willingness was greatest in cases where it was the first intercourse for both partners. 7% of females reported their first sexual experience was "forced"; the incidence of coercion was highest at younger ages. When asked to reflect on their first intercourse, 16% of males and 54% of females stated they should have waited longer before becoming sexually active; 11% of males and only 1% of women felt they should have initiated intercourse sooner. Finally, sexually transmitted diseases were reported by 13% of men and 28% of women who first had intercourse before 16 years of age; the rates among later initiators were 6% and 12%, respectively. This finding suggests that first intercourse at a young age is associated with risks that are shared unequally between men and women.