We just read on Strollerderby that a new study by University of Virginia psychologists reports that teen sex may actually be a good thing. The findings, per ScienceDaily: Teens who have sex at an early age may be less inclined to exhibit delinquent behavior in early adulthood than their peers who waited until they were older to have sex. The study also suggests that early sex may play a role in helping these teens develop better social relationships in early adulthood.
Ha-HA! The Strollerderby blogger says she feels her "entire adolescence has been vindicated," and so do we.
It also rings true to us on an anecdotal level. Most of the people we knew who were a little loose in high school figured sex dynamics out early; by the time they were out of college, they were ready for serious relationships. The ones who dutifully waited until they were of-age to start dating and considering sex wound up spending the post-college decade trying to make up for lost time.
Reader Comments ( Page 2 of 6)
16. This article kind of offends me. I'm 22 and my husband is 25 and we've been married for 3 years. I love the fact that my husband and I have only been with each other. That connection builds a certain kind of trust and bond. We didn't need to have sex as teens to figure out that we loved each other or how to treat each other with respect. Also, as a side point, from reading the comments; I think that it's interesting that if somebody doesn't believe in teen sex it's automaticly assumed that they're suppressing facts about safe sex. My parent's didn't believe in sex before marriage,for religious reasons, and yet they still made sure that I knew about condoms and birth control. And for that matter, if you go to a school with an abstinence program, how stupid do you have to be to not figure out how to go to a drugstore and buy condoms?? T.V. alone is pretty in your face about safe sex.
Candice at 8:34PM on Nov 15th 2007
17. I couldnt disagree with this study more. I can't tell you how many people I know who have been dating and having sex at a young age and they're STILL as immature as ever. A lot of them are abusive or unfaithful or inconsiderate or all of the above. Either that or they're dating people who are that way. I find that the few people I know who waited until they were older to have sex and date tend to have longer-lasting and healthier relationships.
I think a lot of these studies are bogus. They're are concocted by universities for the sake of shock value and to bring noteriety to their institutions.
A-Yo Leroy! at 10:46PM on Nov 15th 2007
18. A study shows...so it is "gospel"???
And what of the girls who participated in the study?
Survey them ten years from now. How many (WHO SLEPT AROUND) successfully transitioned to education job families, etc? How many didn't???
NEW STUDIES TO DO:
Study the FERTILITY of this group of young women 10 years later. How many are still fertile? How many were made infertile by a STD? (Versus a control group of young women who were not sleeping around.)
Study the HEALTH of this group of young women 20 years later. How many of them got cervical cancer? (Again versus a control group of young women with few or ONE sexual partner)
Oh yes we can give young girls that series of SHOTS. Guess what 30% of the time...the shots will FAIL to protect the young woman.
And what of the CHLAYMIDIA epidemic?????????????????????????????????????
Since young girls who sleep around are at higher risk of being child parents, study how well their child is functioning versus a girl who had her child as an adult...
And what of girls who have abortions? Here, compare the fertility rates, the EMOTIONAL health, and how well both the girls who slept around to thecontrol group of girls with FEW or ONE sexual partners..have formed a successful long term bond with one man?
I REMEMBER THE 1960'S SEXUAL REVOLUTION. MY GENERATION HAS EXPERIENCED BOTH THE SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM DAMAGE... IT DAMAGES WOMEN MORE THAN MEN (AT LEAST IN THE SHORT TERM).
I used to work with teens. This concept of pushing them into too early sex is one of the WORST things you can do.
We have to spend lots of time and energy as it is REBUILDING shattered teens who get an STD or who have a baby or who are suicidal due to a relationship....(when I studied teen suicide, the biggest risk group was pregnant teen girls)
And of course boys are damaged. Maybe the BIGGEST way is to see girls as "meat". And to think that if they get the "mechanics" down they are actually "men".
Disperse the postmodern FOG at 9:43PM on Nov 15th 2007
19. Good for Candice who posted above my post.
I've educated my teen daughter in as comprehensive way as I can. She knows the so called "protection" but she ALSO knows...it doesn't always work..it only REDUCES the risk.
Medically speaking, there are two kinds of truly safe sex.
*abstinence till there is maturity & vows
*two persons who do NOT sleep with anyone else
She has heard about some of the chronic to horrible diseases out there for those who sleep around.
She also has had various sessions of training from leaders who have described the different mind sets of boys versus girls...and who have also reviewed the social emotional physical and yes the spiritual consequences of sleeping around.
Some leaders have also shared from their own pain--of things they've done which damaged them or others.
So she knows the negatives AND the positives...the mainmedical social and emotional consequences...some of the partially protective stuff out there--from various persons whose judgment and motives are sound and good.
And she does various social activities with other teens...It's amazing how many things there are to do which need not involve sex.
Actually, the sex "technique" is not the big thing to learn...
it's the whole concept of understanding other humans, of learning how to be UNSELFISH...of how to treat one's partner with RESPECT and later how to raise kids possibly,
and particularly of understanding the opposite sex.
Disperse the postmodern FOG at 9:56PM on Nov 15th 2007
20. Yeah, but Ada, why should teens have their hearts broken and hardened and risk stds? People arent animals, you know. The sex thing is different with humans. We just have to figure out how.
Michelle at 10:09PM on Nov 15th 2007
21. The interesting thing is that I know men and women that had lots of sex in high school and college. Do they think that their children shold have the same kind of sex lives that they did?
Absolutely not.
Kent at 11:05PM on Nov 15th 2007
22. Only thing i have to add is that I did know one woman wh I used to work with who saved herself for marriage. Guess the reason the groom wanted a virgin was that he thought of foreplay as a session of beating his partner until he was aroused. My friend went to the divorce court with a concussion and a broken jaw and arm. Im not saying that Teens should have sex, just that a woman needs to know what she is in for before she says "I do". You may not survive the "committed, married" relationship either. It is my opinion that men who want only NON experienced mates are control freaks who think of thier spouse as their "Property" that should be unsullied by another, not "used goods" and do NOT think of the woman as a human being.
Heidi at 11:12PM on Nov 15th 2007
23. Howdie Heidi,
I like most of the things you said right there. But I would say that regarding your comments:
It is my opinion that men who want only NON experienced mates are control freaks who think of thier spouse as their "Property" that should be unsullied by another, not "used goods" and do NOT think of the woman as a human being.
a new car is better than a used one. And whats wrong with being committed to someone until they die, of natural causes? But I do think that it is possible that in some/many cases, the poor guy is a bit of a control freak, which aint good. Wise choosing, as you said is the right way to go. But I think both sides should still prefer the ideal, which is a new car... fresh and clean.
Michelle at 11:38PM on Nov 15th 2007
24. P.S. They should prefer a car full of drive, vigor, and miles. They should expect the same of themselves. There's a new scenerio, car drives car...
Michelle at 11:40PM on Nov 15th 2007
25. Why worry about a study? They are only reporting their findings and not extrapolating them beyond the scope of the research. If you read the article, you’ll see that it was well-done and only covered certain aspects. It’s just one study, one piece of the puzzle. You should take it along with other studies and statistics to get the whole picture.
I didn’t have sex as a teen; I waited until I was in my 20’s and in a long-term relationship. I made that decision because I knew the risks. I got all of the information that was available, not just “abstain because I said so.”
In my day, we didn’t have all of the diseases that are going around now, so that wasn’t as much of a concern, but we still had the risk of pregnancy, and I didn‘t want to ruin my future by becoming a mother at such a young age. Also, I knew that a sexual relationship meant putting my heart on the line in a major way. Everything I read by older, experienced women pointed out that once you’ve been intimate with someone, you are far more vulnerable to emotional devastation. These things helped me decide to wait until I was mature enough.
Many of you have said that people should wait until they are married. I hope that you realize that even if one doesn’t wait for marriage, it’s still important to wait until maturity. My husband and I lived together for two years before we were married, and it didn’t cause problems. We have been married for nearly 25 years now. When we entered into a physical relationship, it was with the understanding that we were deeply committed to each other. Also, we were out of college and grad school, so we weren’t exactly kids.
Even if your teenage daughter reads this story, if you’ve given her good guidance, it won’t make her decide to just run out and have sex. Make sure that she knows the whole story, that so much is on the line, both physically and emotionally. I was lucky in that I had not only my mom but also my friends’ moms, who were always straight with us. They gave us guidance and information, and we used that to make good decisions. Not a single one of us ended up pregnant or with any diseases.
On a more humorous note, they even gave us ideas for ways to put off boys who pressured us.
Boy: You would if you loved me.
Girl: If you loved me, you wouldn’t pressure me.
Boy: Want to get into the back seat?
Girl: Oh no, I’d much rather sit up here with you.
Give your children ALL of the information, and keep lines of communication open, and you don’t have to worry.
Tatiana at 1:01AM on Nov 16th 2007
26. I wonder how the virginity worshippers feel about "between marriage" sex. I mean, what with the divorce rate in this country being essentially unchanged for the last fifty years, about half of everybody is divorced. Is it okay with the "Power of Purity" crowd if divorced folks have sex?
Captain Negative at 1:08AM on Nov 16th 2007
27. Just when I thought I've heard it all...Rationally thinking people will question this so called study.
lemon at 1:16AM on Nov 16th 2007
28. What the study obviously didn't show is how well teens are able to deal with the possible negative outcomes that having sex at any age can cause. I don't have an inconclusive and questionable study to back me up like you do Ada, but I would be willing to bet that teens aren't quite as able to handle STDs, pregnancy, ect., as well as an adult could. Nor do I think that the average teen has the emotional maturity to handle sexual relationships well. But what do I know? I didn't hand out a number of questionaires to random people to come to a "scientific" conclusion about my ideas.
David at 3:03AM on Nov 16th 2007
29. I don't understand what it means to say that a supposedly scientific study "suggests" something. A scientific study is supposed to present hard, quantifiable data for or against a given proposition. But, then, so much of what is called "psychology" doesn't qualify as science.
emelpe at 5:02AM on Nov 16th 2007
30. Well I was gonna post on this but then realized I cannot say it better than lighthousecog has already done - lighthousecog at 5:19PM on Nov 15th 2007
Cameron at 5:51AM on Nov 16th 2007