Many Regret Early First Sex

Young people who have sex before the age of 17 are more likely to regret their decision than those who wait longer, according to an Irish study on sexual health and relationships. The study also shows that teenagers who have early first sex are less likely to use contraception

The study by the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and the Department of Health and Children entitled Learning about sex and first sexual experience shows that the majority of young people wait until they are 17 or older to have sex for the first time. However, of those who engage in first sex at 16, 43% of women and 19% of men later regret the decision, saying that they “should have waited longer”. More than half of women (59%) and 37% of men who had first sex before they were 16 regretted it.

The research also found that those who had sex before 17 were about half as likely to use contraception as those who waited longer. International studies have found that use of contraception at first sex has a strong influence on subsequent behaviour. Women who have sex before they are 17 are almost 70% more likely to experience a crisis pregnancy in later life and three times more likely to experience abortion in their lifetime than those who wait until they were older.

Katharine Bulbulia, Chair of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, said the findings show that some young people are having first sex at a time in their lives that is not right for them. “We need to equip young people with the knowledge and skills they need to delay their first sexual experience. The Crisis Pregnancy Agency is, in consultation with a range of other organisations and young people, currently planning a campaign to encourage adolescents to delay first sex, which we hope to launch later in the year”.

Posted Thursday 17th April 2008