Early Sexual Activity May Curb Teen Delinquency

[WRJames]

Any comments?

Early Sexual Activity May Curb Teen Delinquency

Early Sexual Activity May Curb Teen Delinquency
'Surprising' results run counter to conventional wisdom, U.S. researchers say



FRIDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Teens who start having sex at an early age may be less likely to engage in delinquent behavior in early adulthood than teens who wait until they're older to have sex, a new U.S. study finds.

The findings contradict the widely held belief that early sexual activity is associated with later drug use, criminality, antisocial behavior, and emotional problems. For example, two studies published earlier this year in the same journal found a link between early teen sex and later behavioral problems.

"We got a very surprising finding, particularly that early sex seems to forecast less antisocial behavior a few years later, rather than more," lead researcher Kathryn Paige Harden, a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia, said in a prepared statement.

From their analysis of data on 534 same-sex twin pairs collected between 1994 and 2002, the researchers also concluded that sex at an earlier age may help teens develop better social relationships in early adulthood.

The study is published in the current online edition of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

"There is a cultural assumption in the United States that if teens have sex early, it is somehow bad for their psychological health. But we actually found that teens who had sex earlier seem to have better relationships later. Now we want to find out why," she said.

In the next phase of this research, Harden plans to closely examine the contexts of early teen sexual activity, such as the types of relationships, the age of the partners, where the sex occurred and why, and how long, the relationships lasted.

"Our hypothesis as a result of this finding is that teens who become involved in intimate romantic relationships early are having sex early and more often, but that those intimate relationships might later protect them from becoming involved in delinquent acts," Harden said.

 

[slyc_willie]

The effects of having sex at an early age are related to the circumstances in which activity is begun. The study suggests that the researchers focused on 'romantic relationships.'

What about inner-city girls who are gang-raped as part of a gang initiation?

Or young boys and girls raped by family members?

Are either of those scenarios included?

 

[TE999]

So what I get from this is if youngsters start fucking at an early age they won't have time (or the strength) to spray graffiti on walls, steal car CD players and deal dope.

This is truly convoluted logic.

What about unwanted pregnancies, STD's and excessive promiscuity?

The premise would be laughable if it wasn't so sad.

 

[3113]

What about inner-city girls who are gang-raped as part of a gang initiation?

Or young boys and girls raped by family members?

There have been plenty of studies on young girls and boys who were raped (as well as adult women and men come to that) and the damaging psychological results of that rape. So why should this study include rape and go over old ground and known results? Such studies have already been done, but studies on the psychological effects of consensual and positive sex between teens have not been done.

 

[Stella_Omega]

The effects of having sex at an early age are related to the circumstances in which activity is begun. The study suggests that the researchers focused on 'romantic relationships.'

Well, yes. They have been known to happen, once in a while.

3113 beat me to it, and I like and endorse what she says (as I so often do)

 

[Liar]

The effects of having sex at an early age are related to the circumstances in which activity is begun. The study suggests that the researchers focused on 'romantic relationships.'

What about inner-city girls who are gang-raped as part of a gang initiation?

Or young boys and girls raped by family members?

Are either of those scenarios included?

Well, I'd say that not repressing sexuality when it occurs in a positive and healthy manner is probably a good thing for a young person's mental development. And that any time it occurs in a negative and hazardous manner it's a very bad thing.

So that study is as right as it is wrong, by focusing on one idealized thing and excluding all the others.

 

[slyc_willie]

Well, I'd say that not repressing sexuality when it occurs in a positive and healthy manner is probably a good thing for a young person's mental development. And that any time it occurs in a negative and hazardous manner it's a very bad thing.

So that study is as right as it is wrong, by focusing on one idealized thing and excluding all the others.

I agree.

3113, Stella, you're right, of course. Studies have been done to death regarding what happens when a young girl or boy is raped. What I was questioning, as Liar pointed out, was the apparent one-sidedness of the study.

I seriously doubt that there are more than a few people in the world (or, let's make it simple, 'our world,' which includes most developed nations with relatively similar views on sex and the age of consent) who have not engaged in some form of sexual activity before the age of eighteen (or sixteen). In my case, I started very early, thought I was in my very late teens before I actually gave up my 'virginal' status. The majority of my early experiences were positive, perhaps even loving.

Nevertheless, I am not so sure that young teenagers who have the happenstance to engage in sex at an early age necessarily shy away from self-damaging or criminal behavior in slightly later years. I would think there would be numerous other factors at work there, primarily those which help an adolescent understand the circumstances of their first coupling.

Kids will always be curious. I can't help but doubt that a fourteen-year-old girl who engages in sex would be less likely to skip school or smoke pot because of it. The study James posted above makes an interesting argument, but it is still a limited study from what I can see.

Show me something that includes inner city kids, kids in both low-income and high-income environments, and includes all ethnic demographics, and still has the same result, and I'll take it more seriously.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Well, I'd say that not repressing sexuality when it occurs in a positive and healthy manner is probably a good thing for a young person's mental development. And that any time it occurs in a negative and hazardous manner it's a very bad thing.

So that study is as right as it is wrong, by focusing on one idealized thing and excluding all the others.

I don't think they were particularly focussing on the one thing, at first-- that's a typical misapprehension brought on by the media's need for a catchy headline.

Nor do they say that ALL kids follow this trend, only that there is a significant statisitcal difference.

I would add that I, personally, had many a romantic/sexual liason in my teens, and was pretty much a teetotaller, and never, ever, self-destructive.

(ETA) Oh-- and I was raised inner-city. Los Angeles, home of the Crips and Bloods-- and Los Avenues.

 

[cantdog]

What if the effects and causes here have been swapped around backward? It's just a correlation.

Maybe, being a teen delinquent means you don't get laid as early in life. That would stand to reason. Why would a sane woman with good self esteem feel like doing any favors for someone who was a real prick, as a teenager, when she could fuck someone who was halfway nice to people?

 

[slyc_willie]

I don't think they were particularly focussing on the one thing, at first-- that's a typical misapprehension brought on by the media's need for a catchy headline.

Nor do they say that ALL kids follow this trend, only that there is a significant statisitcal difference.

I would add that I, personally, had many a romantic/sexual liason in my teens, and was pretty much a teetotaller, and never, ever, self-destructive.

(ETA) Oh-- and I was raised inner-city. Los Angeles, home of the Crips and Bloods-- and Los Avenues.

Catchy headline or no, there seems to be nothing in the study that indicates a true cross-section of different demographics. Just a vague mention of the effects of romantic relationships among ambiguous teenagers.

No, of course there is no indication that ALL teens follow this mold. There is only a sketchy, at best, correlation between early sexual activity and subsequent delinquency.

I'm with you on the third point, Stella. But neither you nor I are represented in the study.

I was raised overseas, in a DOD family. But I had the opportunity to teach an inner-city fifth grade class in Milwaukee. I had eleven and twelve-year-old pimps and drug dealers, a fourteen-year-old hooker who had been held back twice. Not the teenaged life I knew, yet one I learned about pretty quickly.

Where are they represented in the study? Where is their 'early romantic experiences?'

 

[Guest]

It almost sounds to me as if the kids involved in relationships at a younger age just have less free time to get into trouble.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The researchers miss the point.

If what they report is accurate the kids arent supervised adequately.

Many years ago Margaret Mead made her name studying sexual morays of Somoan children. The kiddies filled her journals with all kinds of wild nonsense, which she published as Gospel and the Libbies ate straight from the can. The kiddies lied to poor Margaret. They fed her what she wanted to hear.

The reality is most kids turn out okay regardless of what they experience. You can abuse them, neglect them, ignore them, fuck them, park them in a Nazi concentration camp or public school, and they do okay later.

Kids who spend 12 years fucking-off in school generally do okay.

And all of it boils down to who in hell is supervising these kids?

 

[amicus]

The researchers miss the point.

If what they report is accurate the kids arent supervised adequately.

Many years ago Margaret Mead made her name studying sexual morays of Somoan children. The kiddies filled her journals with all kinds of wild nonsense, which she published as Gospel and the Libbies ate straight from the can. The kiddies lied to poor Margaret. They fed her what she wanted to hear.

The reality is most kids turn out okay regardless of what they experience. You can abuse them, neglect them, ignore them, fuck them, park them in a Nazi concentration camp or public school, and they do okay later.

Kids who spend 12 years fucking-off in school generally do okay.

And all of it boils down to who in hell is supervising these kids?

~~~

JBJ...at the risk of being considered patronizing, I find myself applauding your sometimes, well, most often, terse commentary that usually extends above and beyond the content of the thread concerned.

As I read through this one and thought, yeah, and there are studies saying kids from same sex relationships or single parent families turn out just fine, like a traditional heterosexual two parent family. I question that also.

Nature has provided that our offspring cling tenaciously to life and when called upon to exist in any circumstance, have an almost unbelievable resiliency and do, in most cases survive and even flourish

While I undersand the sociological necessity of studying, niche, or compartmentalized behavioral phenomena, my interest lies in a more general or universal vein.

As I think about the question I am about to pose, I am aware of being on somewhat uncertain ground as I begin to realize that I probably already know the answer.

The question is, and I would enjoy reading your thoughts, what would a normative, ideal, in both physical and psychological measure, foundation of supervision and parental involvement consist of in terms of early sexual development in a stable environment?

I think my question is unanswerable as each child as he or she approached puberty, develops at a different rate, precluding some generalities, still, there seems to be an absence of certainty in my mind and anything offered will be appreciated.

There is a generational thing going on in research and formal publications from journals such as the one quoted, that view sexuality as recreational and hedonistic and even sport, that it detracts, I think, from the nature of the issue, if that made any sense to you at all.

I approached this issue tangentially with a post concerning a documentary, "Indie Sex, Teens" that no one responded to but which is germane to this thread. And your subtle question of, 'supervision' was on raised in my mind as I watched the IFC documentary.

Regards...

Amicus...

 

[emap]

I'm confused on one thing. Why does it matter who is watching these kids? I mean seriously, when i was growing up, teachers didn't watch us, they taught us, answered questions and made sure we didn't kill each other, beyond that they didn't give a flying leap about us.

It honestly hasn't changed a whole lot, they just have to make sure the kids don't hug or kiss now along with not kill each other.

Seriously, how many times did your teacher ever take you aside and ask how your home life is doing, what you are looking forward to doing the rest of your life or anything else slightly parental?

I remember when I was 5, I was walking to school, and home, with the neighbor kids. Mom made me food, i had to do as much as i was able to do and I got left alone to my own devices alot, so long as nothing broke I didn't see my mom much unless she wanted to watch TV or whatever and i happened to be in the same room as whatever she wanted to do.

Kids by and large don't need to be 'watched' They need to be left alone to their own devices and just have someone to turn to for information, and a little guidance in the formative years, read birth until 7-8 at least.

Of course the guidance is not madatory except for having some sort of an interpersonal relationship skill. Kids are going to come out however they want to come out no matter how much or little guidance and watching they get. If a kids mom is all over them until they can walk they can be quiet and shy, they can be loud and everywhere, or obnoxious or well anything else you can think of a person acting like. Same thing with rarely seeing mom.

Having early sex speaks less about perhaps creating better interpersonal relationship skill later in life than about the kids having sex early having good relationship skills to begin with. Think about it this way, when you had sex for the first time, where you acting more like a 12 year old or more like an adult?

 

[amicus]

Dunno who you are Emap, age, gender, politics or what, don't think we have exchanged thoughts before.

But...there was a time...in the world...when, 'school' was not the center of a child's life, even a families concerns...school was more of an afterthought, a minimal requirement that had to be met.

Raising children, being a child, was a family event, an extended family event, wherein girls learned to do woman things and boys learned their father's habits and trade and family tradition was passed on.

I am not unaware that many things have changed, too many to list here, but still, I think, in many, if not most, their is a feeling of loss that life is not as it was or how we perceive how it was.

There are still people who live a traditional and conventional lifestyle, even here on the forum, a minority no doubt, but still, a few, here and there.

My oldest daughter lives a modern, urban lifestyle, with three children, she delivers them to daycare or school care at 7am, five days a week and picks them up, or makes arrangements otherwise, after school activities and such, at perhaps 4 or 5 in the afternoon.

It is not a lifestyle I approve of or recommend, but it is hers and I do not choose to disapprove, at least openly.

The urban and inner city lifestyle is far removed from tradition and even that of rural communities with closer ties.

I think there is an underlying theme to this thread and the issue, that of increasing family alienation and increasing detached, impersonal behavior modification taking place in the schools and the associated social agencies involved.

I have no answers, rather an uneasy feeling that great changes are occuring and I think no one really has a handle on understanding them.

Amicus...

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

AMICUS

In terms of development, most kids arent interested in sex before puberty. Most kids arent interested in driving a car before puberty. Most kids arent interested in getting a job before puberty. And we all know exceptions.

I knew a 3 year old who drove a car on several occasions. The fool social worker who removed him from momma (because of driving) let him play with her car keys, and he stole her car. My old man was 15 years old, a sergeant, and a combat veteran when World War II ended. So some kids can handle almost anything.

But your average kid, from an average functional-traditional family, isnt much interested in sex until adolescense. Functional parents dont leave their kids much free-time to explore sex.

EMAP and the researchers miss other points.

Kids who are sexualized tend to act sexually inappropriate. That is, they arent mature enough to know when they can play with it, and when they should leave it alone. So they wanna play with it on the school bus or at daycare or on the playground at school. Just like they do with Power Rangers and Ninja-Turtles.

Bill Cosby says all kids are brain-damaged, and they are. You really need to be a paranoid, sulking, defiant, narcissistic teen to appreciate sex.

 

[emap]

Am your silly, every heard the phrase the more the world changes the more it stays the same?

It's true way more than most everyone is willing to admit.

Here's a good example. This area is the leading provider of something everyone wants, a campaign is launched to wrest control of the wanted resource away from the country holding onto it so another can benefit to a greater degree. Am I talking about Iraq? In part, there is also Jerusalem, religiously motivated my butt, it was for gold. Not to mention the first gulf war, Iraq wanted that little tiny country that is holding 1/3 of the entire middle eastern supply of oil.

Another good one. This thing is sweeping the world, mostly loved by the younger generation the older are fighting it tooth in nail, claiming that it is an affront to god, is an affront to society as a whole etc. etc.. Now, am I talking about video games, rock and roll? Yes not to mention, Jazz before that, classical music before that, when classical first started making an appearance, music was only for religious tunes, in Europe of course.

One more, cause this is kinda fun. This group is taking over our country/is an affront to god we must get rid of them anyway we can. So for this one we got blacks, chinese, jewish, irish, indian, japanese, christian, islamic, homosexuals, russian, well not so much them, not to mention any groups I have not mentioned.

So do you get the point?

Now about the way your daughter raises her kids, it's not worse than the way you or I were raised. heck in some ways it is better, her kids see tons more people than either of us did. Day-cares usually are not packed full of kids who go to school together, and neighbors tend to go to different places or one of the parents is a stay at home. Not to mention, the people who work in them tend to change jobs, different people are there depending on the day, their friends visit sometimes. Her kids are learning interpersonal skills faster than you or I did, though it can be to fast for some, kids that is.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

What's sweeping the country is the fad that any conduct makes the muster of correct behavior, or morality.

The fly in the ointment is individual druthers. Society may be okay if I boink your noggin with a stick of lumber, but possibly you object, and then we have a conflict.

So the wise-men and learned-women get together, work out a moral code for all, and everyone lives happily ever after. Except they dont.

Sooner than later someone whines about being persecuted for fucking a chicken, and the next guy extends the complaint to sheep, until we're back, full-circle, advocating children fucking children.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

EMAP you have no point, your thinking is like tossed salad. Its a whole lot in the aggregate, but not much in its constituent parts. Just bits & pieces of shit tossed into a bowl and stirred up.

 

[xssve]

What if the effects and causes here have been swapped around backward? It's just a correlation.

Maybe, being a teen delinquent means you don't get laid as early in life. That would stand to reason. Why would a sane woman with good self esteem feel like doing any favors for someone who was a real prick, as a teenager, when she could fuck someone who was halfway nice to people?

I was thinking that the reason teens engage in delinquent behaviors is to increase their chances of getting laid.

 

[R. Richard]

I just want to say that some of us realized the positive effects of early sexual experience and did something about it! I did my share and more. DID YOU?

 

[3113]

Having early sex speaks less about perhaps creating better interpersonal relationship skill later in life than about the kids having sex early having good relationship skills to begin with. Think about it this way, when you had sex for the first time, where you acting more like a 12 year old or more like an adult?

Interesting point, and I'm much more concerned about the study taking that into account then accounting for sexually abused or used teens. We're all very aware that shy kids and geeks without relationship skills are too likely to end up as virgins even into their twenties and beyond. In short, the sex didn't happen because of poor relationship skills.

So, yes, the study may be putting the cart before the horse.

On the other hand, as the reality show "Beauty and the Geek" tends to show (abet in an artificial and controlled environment manner), that even kisses, never mind full out sex, can bring a shy person out of their shell and improve their relationship skills. Being wanted by someone, feeling that you're sexually attractive and have something desirable can certainly make a person more outgoing.

 

[gauchecritic]

With so little information and the need for a headline the researchers seem to be giving as vague an answer as possible: What we accept as received wisdom (early sex leads to delinquency) may not be true.

Everybody else, stop looking for answers to specific problems when the context is too complex to identify what the subject actually is.

ETA. I changed my mind. You can look all you like.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Dedicated to RICHARD and EMAP

America is calling, let's care enough to give our very best.
For if we give our very best,
I know that we will more than pass the test.
If I could have three wishes, I'd wish that you'd live free,
I'd wish for amber waves of grain from sea to shining sea.

Yeah, let's do it for our country, the red, white, and the blue.
It's Uncle Sam who's asking, so your mother will approve.
Tomorrow I'll be fighting, and I'll win this war for you.
Let's do it for our country, our country wants us to.

Bullets are exploding, they'll soon be at the door,
Give something to America you never gave before.
Yeah, let's do it for our country, the red, white, and the blue,
If the President were standin' here, I'm sure he would approve.
I'll be a mighty soldier before this night is through.
Let's do it for our country, our country wants us to.

(Spoken)
Just think about it -- it would be like as if we were doing it for the Statue of Liberty, or the Grand Canyon, or the New York Yankees... it would be like as if we were doing it for... Disneyland!

Yeah, let's do it for our country, the red, white, and the blue,
It's not a lot to ask of us, our parents will approve.
Tomorrow I'll be fighting, and I'll win this war for you.
Let's do it for our country, (spoken) we owe it to our country.
Let's do it for our country, our country wants us to.

 

[rgraham666]

All I know is that given the choice between getting laid and breaking into cars, I'll get laid every time.