Rethinking Timing of First Sex and Delinquency

Overview

Journal J Youth Adolesc

Specialties Pediatrics
Psychology
Social Sciences

Date 2011 Sep 28

PMID 21479148

Citations 29

Authors

K Paige Harden

Jane Mendle

Jennifer E Hill

Eric Turkheimer

Robert E Emery

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

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. 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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