Early teen sex unrelated to delinquency

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young people who lose their virginity at an earlier age may actually be less likely to steal, vandalize and participate in other types of delinquent behavior, a new study shows.

"Results suggest a more nuanced perspective on the meaning and consequences of adolescent sexuality than is commonly put forth in the literature," principal investigator Dr. Robert E. Emery and colleagues from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, report

Earlier this year, research findings linked early age of first sex to delinquency. The authors of the study, reported in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, concluded that early sex caused this behavior. However, they did not consider that the early loss of virginity and delinquent behavior might be associated with a third environmental or genetic factor.

To investigate this possibility, Emery's group analyzed data for 534 same-sex twin pairs enrolled in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a subset of the same data used in the earlier study. Using twins allowed the researchers to consider the effects of genetics and environment, because the twins shared the same home environment and some or all of the same genes.

On average, individuals who lost their virginity earlier were more likely to be delinquents as young adults. However, when the researchers looked at twin pairs, they found that the twin who had sex earlier was actually less likely than the other to be delinquent as a young adult.

This suggests that, all other factors being equal, losing one's virginity earlier could actually protect against becoming a delinquent.

"The results of the current study may be surprising, because the assumption that sexual activity, in and of itself, is somehow pathological and damaging for adolescents' psychological well-being is embedded in much...research on this topic," the researchers write.

It's important to consider the context of sexual activity, they add; steady dating relationships have been tied to a lower risk of depression and less likelihood of alcohol use, while teens who engage in casual sex could be at greater risk of emotional and behavioral problems.

"The findings at least suggest the possibility that gaining sexual experience in adolescence may have positive implications for stress reactivity, adult sexual functioning, quality of peer relationships, and decreased externalizing (aggressive behavior)," they point out.

SOURCE: Journal of Youth and Adolescence, online September 27, 2007.