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First sex: why you shouldn't rush into it
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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All parents are very similar in one thing - they worry about the well-being of their children and worry that their beloved child might get into some dangerous story. Teenagers' sexual relations are also a headache for moms and dads. And as scientists say, for good reason. The first sexual experience can have a significant impact on the physical and mental health of a teenager.
What can experts say about the connection between early sexual activity and the development of romantic relationships in adulthood?
Paige Harden, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, set out to study the influence of the age at which sexual relations began on a person’s subsequent romantic success in adulthood. She was interested in how a person’s first sexual experience would affect the number of partners a person has and their satisfaction with their relationships in adulthood.
To answer that question, Dr. Harden used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. She looked at the records of 1,659 same-sex brothers who were followed from adolescence through age 29. Each was classified by the age at which they began having sex: early (under 15), early (ages 15-19), or late (over 19).
As the expert had predicted, a later start to sexual activity was later associated with a higher level of education and income compared to the situation of other men who began sexual relations before the age of 15 or a little later.
Study participants who started having sex later were much less likely than other participants to be dissatisfied with their personal lives as adults.
The team of researchers believes that this dependence may have several explanations. For example, people who have their first sexual intercourse later have a certain type of temperament that helps them to establish a relationship with their partner in the future. Such people may carefully choose their sexual partner and enter into intimate relationships only when the spiritual connection with the partner completely satisfies them.
But another cause-and-effect relationship cannot be ruled out. Perhaps those who start their sexual life later behave more balanced in close relationships with people due to the absence of psychological trauma associated with early sex and sexual aggression.
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