NEW YORK, June 14, 2011 (NYDN) – A recent study conducted by the University Of Iowa (UI) has found a link between teenage sex and divorce rate in women. According to the study women who lose their virginity as young teens are more likely to divorce, the results are exacerbated even more if the experience was undesired or if she was not entirely sure about it at the time.
According to the study published in ‘The Journal of Marriage and Family”, the analysis found that 31 percent of women who had sex for the first time as teens divorced within five years, and 47 percent divorced within 10 years. The divorce rate for women who delayed sex until adulthood was much lower: 15 percent at five years, and 27 percent at 10 years.
This study invariably relates to a host of other studies which have found that teenage sexual activity usually leads to a host of other psychological and emotional issues later on. Issues such as depression, can play a major role in divorce.
Author Anthony Paik, Associate Professor of Sociology in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, examined the responses of various women to validate the study. Paik said there are a couple potential explanations for the link between teen sex and divorce.
“One possibility is a selection explanation, that the women who had sex as adolescents were predisposed to divorce. The attitudes that made them feel OK about having sex as teens may have also influenced the outcome of their marriage,” Paik said. “The other possibility is a causal explanation –- that the early sexual experience led to the development of behaviors or beliefs that promote divorce.”
Paik finished by stating:
“It’s a timely topic, given the current debate over the sexualization of girls,” Paik said. “This study tries to provide some answers about adolescent sexuality and the risk of marital dissolution, and the results show that both the context and early onset of first intercourse are associated with divorce.”
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