Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:57:00.538Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Age at first intercourse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Hanne Wielandt
Affiliation:
Department of Social Medicine, University of Odense, Denmark
Jesper Boldsen
Affiliation:
Department of Social Medicine, University of Odense, Denmark

Summary

In 1984–85 a representative sample of 286 Danish women and 336 men aged 16–20 years were interviewed about their sexual debut. Seventy-four females (25·9%) and 101 males (30·1%) had not yet experienced sexual intercourse. A maximum likelihood estimation method was used to establish the age distribution at sexual debut. This takes into account knowledge of age at interview among the non-experienced respondents and of the few who did not report age at sexual debut. The median age at first sexual intercourse was close to 16·8 years for both females and males. This appeared to be a consequence of age at debut declining among women and remaining unchanged among males during the preceding 20 years.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Auken, K. (1953) Unge Kvinders Seksuelle Adfærd. Rosenkilde & Bagger, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Boldsen, J. L. (1988) Two methods for reconstructing the empirical mortality profile. Hum. Evol. (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eliasson, R. (1971) Könsdifferenser i Sexuellt Beteende och Attityder till Sexualitet. Akademisk Avhandling, Samhällsventenskapliga Fakulteten, University of Lund.Google Scholar
Hertoft, P. (1968) Unge Mænds Seksuelle Adfærd, Viden og Holdning. Akademisk Forlag, Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Israel, J. & Johansson, S. (1965) Ålder vid första coitus bland värnpliktiga. Sociologiskforskning, 1, 30.Google Scholar
Jeune, B. & Wielandt, H. (1989) Prevalence of smoking and oral contraception in a sample of young Danish women. Scand. J. Social Med. In press.Google Scholar
Jonsson, G. (1951) Sexualvaner hos svensk ungdom. Statens Offentliga Utredningar. 41, 160.Google Scholar
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B. & Martin, C. E. (1948) Sexual Behaviour in the Human Male. Saunders, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Klackenberg-Larsson, I. & Björkman, K. (1978) Tonåringers sexdebut. Socialmed. Tidskr. 333.Google Scholar
Lewin, B. (1982) The adolescent boy and girl. First and other early experiences with intercourse from a representative sample of Swedish school adolescents. Archs sex. Behav. 11, 417.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lodewijckx, E. (1987) First intercourse, contraception and first pregnancy in Flanders: changes during the past 30 years. J. biosoc. Sci. 19, 439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nielsen, I. L., Larsen, G. K., Fog, E., Madsen, J., Gade, K. & Kelstrup, J. (1986) 22-årig kvindes seksuelle adfærd, oplevelser, viden og holdning. Ugeskr. Læg. 48, 2866.Google Scholar
Schofield, M. (1967) The Sexual Behaviour of Young People. Longmans, London.Google Scholar
Socialforskningsinstituttet (1977) Danmarks Statistik. Orientering om Omnibusundersøgelserne. Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Statens Offentliga Utredningar (1974) Sexual- och Samlevnadsundervisning, 59, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Turnbull, B. W. (1976) The empirical distribution function with arbitrarily grouped, censored and truncated data. J. R. statist. Soc. B, 38, 290.Google Scholar
Walløe, L. (1978) Seksualitet, Familieplanlægning og Prevensjon i Norge. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo.Google Scholar
Wermuth, L., Jeune, B. & Wielandt, H. (1987) Seksualoplysning blandt unge. Ugeskr. Læg. 149, 1083.Google Scholar
Wielandt, H., Boldsen, J. & Jeune, B. (1989) Age of partner at first intercourse. Archs sex. Behav. (In press).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wielandt, H., Jeune, B. & Wermuth, L. (1988) Seksualoplysning blandt abortsøgende teenagere. Ugeskr. Læg. 150, 140.Google Scholar
Wielandt, H., Wermuth, L. & Jeune, B. (1987) Kontraception ved første samleje. Ugeskr. Læg. 149, 1088.Google Scholar
Wielandt, H., Wermuth, L. & Pedersen, M. R. (1988) Contraceptive use in a sample of young Danish females. Acta obstet. gynec. scand. 67, 319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zetterberg, H. L. (1969) Om Sexuallivet i Sverige. Statens Offentliga Utredningar. Stockholm.Google Scholar