Sex at an early age is associated with lower health and well-being outcomes in adolescents, according to a study from the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra. To carry out this study, the Education of Human Affectivity and Sexuality project surveyed more than 6,000 adolescents between 13 and 17 years old in Peru and El Salvador, of whom almost a thousand had already had sex.

The study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, points out that those who had sex early have worse memories of that experience. On the other hand, sex at an early age is not usually related to love, but rather to peer or partner pressure.

Younger adolescents cited the following principal reasons for having sex for the first time: most of my friends have done it, my partner insisted and I feared losing him/her or because I was afraid we would break up, and because I was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. "A lack of maturity may increase the chances of making less autonomous and sensible decisions," the study points out.

On the contrary, the study indicates that teens who initiate asexual relationship at a later age have better memories of their experience and refer more often to love as the reason for having sex.

Reinforcing previous studies

This study reinforces previous research. The article it self includes previous findings, such as, for example, that those who have sex earlier are more likely to have a greater number of casual sexual partners and behavioral problems, and tend not to go to college, as well as regret the age at which they began having sex.

In addition, the publication reviews previous studies that refer to associated medical risks. They argue that adolescent girls are biologically more susceptible to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as a result of an immature cervix.

• Article ‘The Sooner, the Worse? Association between earlier age of sexual initiation and worse adolescent health and well-being outcomes’