Sexual Timetables for Oral-Genital, Vaginal, and Anal Intercourse

Sociodemographic Comparisons in a Nationally Representative Sample of Adolescents

Bibliographic Data

ID11033754
AuthorsCarolyn T Halpern (0000-0003-4278-5646, Carolyn Tucker Halpern is with the Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the time of the study, Abigail A. Haydon was a doctoral student in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health and a predoctoral trainee at the Carolina Population Center, both at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.), Abigail A Haydon (Carolyn Tucker Halpern is with the Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the time of the study, Abigail A. Haydon was a doctoral student in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health and a predoctoral trainee at the Carolina Population Center, both at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)
Year2012
Volume102
Issue6
Pages1221-1228
Publication date2012-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2011.300394
PMID22571710
PMCIDPMC3394539
OpenAlexW1986191834
LanguageEN
Citations received24
References cited25

Objectives. We documented the prevalence and relative timing of oral-genital, vaginal, and anal intercourse during adolescence and examined whether these timetables varied by sociodemographic factors. Methods. We used data from almost 14 000 Wave IV respondents to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to generate prevalence estimates for adolescents who reached age 18 years by 2001 and logistic and ordinary least squares regression to examine sociodemographic correlates of sexual patterns. Results. One in 5 adolescents did not engage in any of these sexual behaviors by age 18 years. More than two thirds reported vaginal or oral-genital sexual activity, but only about half experienced both. One in 10 reported anal intercourse experience. A third initiated 2 or more behaviors within a 1-year period. In longer timetables, vaginal intercourse was more often initiated first. Most sociodemographic characteristics examined were uniquely associated with prevalence and sexual timing. Conclusions. Diversity in patterns of sexual initiation occurring in the 1990s underscores the ongoing need for comprehensive and nuanced examinations of adolescent sexual trajectories and their implications for sexual health in more recent cohorts

Anal intercourse · Anal sex · Environmental health · Family medicine · Gynecology · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) · Men who have sex with men · Population · Sample (material) · Sex organ · Sexual behavior · Sexual intercourse · Syphilis · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Medicine · Psychology · Reproductive tract infections research · Sexual function and dysfunction studies

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