ArticleJournal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence2017
Early Sexual Initiation and Mental Health: A Fleeting Association or Enduring Change?
Article in Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Emotional Outcomes of Casual Sexual Relationships and Experiences: A Systematic Review.Journal of sex research · 2021Pooled it
- Unraveling the link between early sexual initiation and endometriosis: evidence from population-based analyses and genetic causal inference.Reproductive biology and endocrinology : RB&E · 2026Article
- Risky sexual behaviours and associated factors among high school students in Lomé, Togo: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Impulsivity and Early Initiation of Sexual Behaviors in Adolescents with Externalizing Disorders.Archives of sexual behavior · 2026Observational
- Longitudinal Associations Between Early Noncoital Sexual and Romantic Behaviors and Adolescent Depressive Symptoms.Journal of adolescence · 2025Article
- The long reach of puberty: mechanisms underlying sex-dependent links between pubertal timing and adult internalizing symptoms.Psychological medicine · 2025Article
- Regression and machine learning approaches identify potential risk factors for glioblastoma multiforme.Brain communications · 2025Article
- Young Adult Women and Sexual Awareness in the Digital Age: Examining Pathways Linking Online Dating Debut and Mindfulness with Sexual and Mental Health.Archives of sexual behavior · 2023Article
- Changes in psychological distress after first vaginal intercourse in late adolescence.Journal of adolescence · 2021Article
- Early Sexual Debut among Ghanaian Women: Correlates and Psychological Effect.BioMed research international · 2021Article
- Partnered Intimate Activities in Early Adolescence-Findings From the UK Millennium Cohort Study.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2019Article
- Socio-Demographic, Health and Lifestyle Factors Influencing Age of Sexual Initiation among Adolescents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The present research examined how the within-person association between sexual initiation and internalizing symptoms decays over time, using data with annual measurement occasions across adolescence (N = 1,789) and statistical models of within-person change. Sexual initiation was associated with increased levels of internalizing symptoms for early-initiating girls (ninth grade, approximately age 15), but not for on-time-initiating girls or for boys. The association between girls' early sexual initiation and internalizing symptoms declined precipitously over time. Indeed, 1 year after sexual debut, early-initiating girls were similar to on-time or noninitiating girls on internalizing symptoms, suggesting early sexual initiation does not produce lasting detriments to girls' mental health. Findings inform how researchers perceive sexual initiation, both as a developmental milestone and as a prevention target.
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Registered trials
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