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ABSTRACT
This study examined bidirectional relationships between age at first sexual intercourse and academic goals and achievement. It was hypothesized that lower educational goals and achievement would be associated with initiating sexual intercourse at a younger age, and that initiating sexual activity early would be associated with a decrease in subsequent academic achievement and goals. In longitudinal data spanning 11 years, evidence was found for bidirectional effects. One interpretation of these results is that adolescents with high educational goals and achievement delay having intercourse because of the perceived risks (e.g., pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases may jeopardize their plans for the future). Conversely, adolescents who engage in sexual intercourse at young ages might undergo a change in attitudes, including reduced interest in academic achievement and goals. The specific educational variables most strongly related to adolescent sexual intercourse in this study differed substantially by race and gender.
Approximately 22% of females and 27% of males have had intercourse by age 15, and about 76% and 85%, respectively, by age 19 (Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1998). Many factors have been linked to the early onset of sexual activity among adolescents, such as peer influences, level of educational achievement, community characteristics, gender, race, and parental influences (Brewster, 1994; Furstenberg, Morgan, Moore, & Peterson, 1987; Miller, Norton, Curtis, Hill, Schvaneveldt, & Young, 1997). There are also many consequences; early sexual activity has been linked to a wide range of social problems, including lower levels of academic achievement (Brooke, Balka, Abernathy, & Hamburg, 1994; Miller & Sneesby, 1988), higher rates of unwanted pregnancies (Hayes, 1987; Zabin & Howard, 1993), sexually transmitted diseases (Greenberg, Magder, & Aral, 1992), multiple sexual partners, and involvement in other risky behaviors, such as substance use and delinquency (Donovan, 1996; Jessor & Jessor, 1975). An understanding of both the factors predicting early sexual activity and its consequences is important for more effectively preventing and ameliorating the social costs of early sexual intercourse.
This study focused on the bidirectional influences of educational factors and the onset of sexual activity. In some longitudinal research, lower academic aspirations and achievement have been shown to increase the likelihood of subsequent sexual activity (Costa, Jessor, Donovan, & Fortenberry, 1995; Jessor & Jessor, 1975; Marini, 1984; Rindfuss, Bumpass, & St. John,...