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Low Income Teens Having Sex Way Too Young
Okay, I’ll admit to being something of a prude and hoping and praying my children don’t have sex until they are in college, but I have to think just about anybody would be shocked by this: a study out of Iowa State University found that one in four kids and teens between the ages of 11 to 16 in low income families are having sex.
Okay, now, the study didn’t say what the number is for middle or upper class kids (probably not that different, I would guess) but still. The average age of first intercourse was 12.77 years among the low income kids studied, which means, as researcher Brenda Lohman points out, that some start at age 10 or younger. One boy they spoke to in the study claimed his first sex happened at age 8, and by age 18 had already fathered four children.
Now, again, as far as I can tell they took their respondents at their word, so the claimed frequency of sexual intercourse and age of first sex could easily be misreported by the kids themselves. What raised my suspicion about that was that the reported age of first sex and frequency of sex were much higher for boys than girls. And tween and teenage boys are not known for their honesty with strangers regarding their sexual experience, generally.
If the study is even moderately accurate, not yet 13 is awfully young to start having sex. I’m wondering what is motivating these kids to have sex so young, and what, if anything, could be done to help them wait a bit longer until their maturity catches up with their desires. There have been other studies showing that early sex can lead to a whole host of ills, and I wonder if these kids have any clear idea of what they are getting themselves into.
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[...] teens WILL have sex by the time they are 17. (And, if you’re poor, the percentage is higher at much younger ages, not surprising since poorer children have less parental supervision and lonliness can lead to sex. [...]
But maybe worth the bickering …. - God Blogging (and more) commented on Dec 15 09 at 1:19 pmPlumbLucky commented on Aug 19 09 at 2:20 pmThe study does pretty much replicate what I saw growing up though – I went to the “poor” school in town. Many of my classmates had at least ONE child prior to graduation, many had more than one. And coming in freshman year, which would have made the bulk of us 14ish? There were 6 in my class who were already pregnant on their first day of high school. Scary. Common threads I saw were: one absent parent, the remaining parent working at least two jobs to make ends meet so there was NO supervision at home; lack of knowledge of basic biology (i.e. how to prevent a pregnancy) because it hadn’t been taught at home; and a lack of involvement in school or community activities. Hormones + no supervision + little education in contraception + too much time with too little to do = very young having sex and making babies. Nothing scientific, can’t back it up independently…just what I saw in high school.
Mrs Embers commented on Aug 20 09 at 7:07 amHoping that your kids won’t have sex until they’re mentally and emotionally mature enough to understand and handle the consequences does NOT make you a prude. Just because kids are physically ready to have sex in high school doesn’t mean they should, even if TV and movies tell them (and you) that it’s “normal” and fun.
Trust me, you’re not the one with the problem.
PlumbLucky commented on Aug 20 09 at 8:05 amBut along with that hope, you have to educate in order to help that hope be the truth. That’s my take, anyways.
Lisa commented on Aug 21 09 at 2:05 pmMiddle class and upper class kids are often ‘overscheduled’ or supervised in other ways to avoid this.
Lisa commented on Aug 21 09 at 2:06 pmOh and I remember reading in grad school that the most likely time for a teen to get pregnant is between 3 and 5 pm.. No parent, no school.
The kids in activities, sports, whatever are will an adult at that time.
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