Context counts: long-term sequelae of premarital intercourse or abstinence

Journal of Sex Research, May, 2005 by Nicole M. Else-Quest, Janet Shibley Hyde, John D. DeLamater

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Long-Term Sequelae of Age at First Intercourse

To test the association between age at first intercourse and later psychological and physical functioning, we ran a 2 (gender) x 3 (age at first intercourse: early, average, or late) MANCOVA (education, age, and alcohol consumption as covariates) with 5 dependent variables (sexual dysfunction, sexual guilt, STDs, overall health, and life satisfaction). As with the analyses of relationship status at time of debut, participants whose first intercourse was coerced (n = 618, 18.0%) were excluded from these analyses. Cell means and standard deviations for all 5 dependent variables are shown in Table 7.

The multivariate test of the interaction between gender and age at time of first intercourse was not significant, F (10, 5092) = 1.28, p > .05. As in the previous analysis, the multivariate test of gender was significant, F (5, 2545) = 10.76, p < .001. Women had significantly more sex dysfunction (F [1, 2549] = 43.33, p < .001), less sex guilt (F [1, 2549] = 6.31, p < .05), and less life satisfaction than men did (F [1, 2549] = 3.29, p < .05). Men and women did not differ significantly on overall health (F [1, 2549] = .69, p > .05) or STDs (F [1, 2549] = 1.02, p > .05).

The multivariate test of age at time of first intercourse was significant, F (10, 5092) = 18.95, p < .001. Univariate F-tests of age at debut and the associated effect sizes and Bonferroni post-hoc tests of significance are shown in Table 7. Individuals who had their sexual debuts at early ages had significantly less sex guilt, poorer overall health, and more STDs than individuals who had their debuts at average or late ages. There were no significant group differences in sex dysfunction or life satisfaction. In sum, age at first intercourse was consistently linked to 3 of 5 outcomes, but the direction and pattern of the effects is unreliable and inconsistent with the abstinence-only agenda. This issue will be addressed further in the Discussion.

Long-Term Sequelae of Context of First Intercourse

To investigate the contribution of the context of the first sexual experience to later psychological and physical functioning, we ran a 2 (gender) x 2 (context: positive vs. negative first experience) MANCOVA (education, age, and alcohol consumption as covariates) with five dependent variables (sexual dysfunction, sexual guilt, STDs, overall health, and life satisfaction). Cell means and standard deviations for these dependent variables are shown in Table 8. The multivariate test of the interaction between gender and context was not significant, F (5, 3173) = .92, p > .05. The multivariate test of gender was significant, F (5, 3173) = 12.19, p < .001. Women had significantly more sex dysfunctions (F (1, 3177) = 42.22, p < .001), less sex guilt (F [1, 3177] = 11.28, p < .001), and fewer STDs (F [1, 3177] = 3.87, p < .05) than did men. Men and women did not differ significantly in overall health (F [1, 3177] = 3.17, p > .05) or life satisfaction (F [1, 3177] = .84, p > .05).

The multivariate test of context of first intercourse was significant, F (5, 3173) = 23.90, p < .001. Univariate F-tests of context and the associated effect sizes are shown in Table 8. Consistent with our hypotheses, the results indicate that negative contexts were significantly linked to more sex dysfunctions, more sex guilt, poorer health, more STDs, and less life satisfaction--that is, to all five outcomes.

DISCUSSION

Is Abstinence the Answer?

While federal funding for abstinence-only education increases to $102 million annually (Dailard, 2002), a debate rages regarding the effectiveness of abstinence-only education versus comprehensive sexuality education (US Surgeon General, 2001). Despite the surplus of evidence indicating the inefficacy of abstinence-only programs (e.g., Kirby, 2002; Silva, 2002), there is no source of federal funding for comprehensive sexuality education programs (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, 2001). The research reported here provides an empirical test of one of the major claims made by advocates of abstinence-only education. To investigate such claims, we assessed the sequelae of premarital sexual intercourse for the outcomes of sexual dysfunction, sex guilt, overall health, incidence of STDs, and life satisfaction. Two outcomes--STDs and life satisfaction--were linked to premarital sex to some extent. However, variables not accounted for in the current study may explain these findings. For example, greater number of lifetime sexual partners is expected among those who have premarital intercourse; by increasing the likelihood of contracting an STD, premarital sex is likely indirectly linked to STD incidence. In addition, religious beliefs may both guide premarital sex decisions and affect life satisfaction, providing a potentially spurious link between premarital sex and life satisfaction. The results suggest that premarital sex per se does not result in later sexual dysfunction, feelings of sex guilt, or poor health, though it appears to be linked in some way to STDs and life satisfaction. Because of the correlational nature of the data, causal inferences between premarital sex and negative outcomes are unwarranted.