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Rethinking Timing of First Sex and Delinquency

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Abstract

The relation between timing of first sex and later delinquency was examined using a genetically informed sample of 534 same-sex twin pairs from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, who were assessed at three time points over a 7-year interval. Genetic and environmental differences between families were found to account for the association between earlier age at first sex and increases in delinquency. After controlling for these genetic and environmental confounds using a quasi-experimental design, earlier age at first sex predicted lower levels of delinquency in early adulthood. The current study is contrasted with previous research with non-genetically informative samples, including Armour and Haynie (2007, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 141–152). Results suggest a more nuanced perspective on the meaning and consequences of adolescent sexuality than is commonly put forth in the literature.

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Notes

  1. Because of clustering within twin pairs, basic inferential statistics that assume independence of observations would be incorrect. Therefore, standard errors and/or confidence intervals around means are not displayed. These means comparisons are intended to be purely descriptive.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904-4400, USA

    K. Paige Harden, Jane Mendle, Jennifer E. Hill, Eric Turkheimer & Robert E. Emery

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  1. K. Paige Harden
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  2. Jane Mendle
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Harden, K.P., Mendle, J., Hill, J.E. et al. Rethinking Timing of First Sex and Delinquency. J Youth Adolescence 37, 373–385 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9228-9

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