Does early sexual debut reduce teenagers' participation in tertiary education? Evidence from the SHARE longitudinal study

Parkes, A. , Wight, D. , Henderson, M. and West, P. (2010) Does early sexual debut reduce teenagers' participation in tertiary education? Evidence from the SHARE longitudinal study. Journal of Adolescence, 33(5), pp. 741-754. (doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.10.006) (PMID:19897236) (PMCID:PMC2946557)

Abstract

Negative effects of early sexual debut on academic outcomes can extend beyond secondary school, although concurrent changes in other psychosocial risk factors have not been investigated. Data from three waves of a longitudinal survey of Scottish teenagers were used to examine associations between early sexual debut (first heterosexual intercourse) and both expectations for (N = 5,061) and participation in (N = 2,130) tertiary education at college or university. Early debut was associated with reduced tertiary education, after adjusting for academic performance and wave 1 confounders relating to social background, attitudes and behaviours. Pregnancy/partner pregnancy did not explain all of this finding, as many sexually experienced teenagers opted out of tertiary education after leaving school early for other reasons. Changes in other psychosocial risk factors between waves 1 and 2 mediated much of the association found. Early sexual experience may predict disengagement from tertiary education, although further research is needed to explore causal pathways. (C) 2009 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Henderson, Prof Marion and Wight, Professor Daniel and Parkes, Dr Alison and West, Prof Patrick
• Authors: Parkes, A., Wight, D., Henderson, M., and West, P.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > MRC/CSO SPHSU
• Journal Name: Journal of Adolescence
• Publisher: Elsevier Ltd.
• ISSN: 0140-1971
• ISSN (Online): 1095-9254
• Published Online: 07 November 2009
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2009 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents
• First Published: First published in Journal of Adolescence 33(5):741-754
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License