T10-O-05 Age at first sex: when does it really happen?

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study is to promote a less distorted model for assessing age at first sex, especially in less developed countries (LDCs). This could lead to empowerment of sexual education policies globally. Evidence suggests that calculations for age at first sex have been under-estimated by neglecting virgins and censoring (Zaba et al). Methods Findings are based on the 2007 Durex Sexual Wellbeing Global Survey (carried out in July and August 2006 in 26 countries globally). Margin of error in each country was 3% (n=1,000) for a 95% confidence interval. Out of the 26,032 responses, 85.6% were sexually active. Median and mean survival time were calculated based on the Kaplan-Meier survival function and timetables. A Cox regression-based test checked for equality of survival curves by gender, income, age, education, and area of residency. Results Traditional models under-estimate age at first sex by at least twelve months. By allowing censoring and including virgins, the median age at first sex changes from 19.1 (based on arithmetic mean) to 20.2 years globally. Differences were also found in LDCs. Equality checks resulted in differences for age at first sex by area of residency, income, and education. Rural residents with income below-average and low education are more likely to experience earlier first sexual intercourse. Conclusions The implications of these results are: a) improvement of assessment mechanisms of when children and adolescents are in fact losing their virginity; and b) determination of when children and adolescents should be exposed to formal sexual education in schools.