Had teen sex? Caution, you might get divorced--study | The Money Times

Had teen sex? Caution, you might get divorced--study | The Money Times

Lost your virginity during adolescence? A latest study from the University of Iowa reveals that women who had teen sex are prone to get divorced.

The findings, published in the April issue of Journal of Marriage and Family, exhibited that 31 percent of women who had sexual intercourse for the first time got divorced within five years of their marriage, while 47 percent got separated within 10 years.

Besides, 15 percent of the women, who had sex during late adolescence, had split at five years and 27 percent got divorced at 10 years.

The study was conducted by the lead author Anthony Paik, the associate professor of sociology in the university’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Responses of 3,793 women analyzed

Anthony Paik derived the outcome of the research after analyzing the responses of 3,793 married and divorced women to the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth.

The study stated that women, who had sex, before the age of 16, are predisposed to marital separation.

As quoted by Daily Mail, the findings of the research stated: “Thirty-one percent of women who lost their virginity during adolescence had premarital sex with multiple partners, compared to 24 percent of those who waited.

“Twenty-nine percent experienced premarital conceptions, versus 15 percent who waited.

“One in four women, who had sex as a teen had a baby before they were married, compared to only one in ten who waited until adulthood.

“Only one per cent of women surveyed said they chose to have sex at age 13 or younger, compared to five per cent at age 14 or 15, and 10 per cent at age 16 or 17.

“Forty two per cent reported that their first sexual intercourse before age 18 that was not completely wanted.

“Fifty eight per cent of the group waited until age 18 or older to have sex. Of those, 22 per cent said it was unwanted, compared to 21 per cent who said it was wanted.”

Others factors of divorce

Though the author has alleged sex to be the prime reason for divorce, there are other factors that might also lead to separation.

Sex with multiple partners, pregnancy or out-of-wedlock birth is also some pivotal reasons that can also be responsible for divorce.

“The results are consistent with the argument that there are down sides to adolescent sexuality, including the increased likelihood of divorce,” said the lead author Anthony Paik.

“But there's also support for the "more sex positive" view, because if a teen delays sex to late adolescence and it is wanted, that choice in itself doesn't necessarily lead to increased risk of 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,” added Paik.

“The other possibility is a causal explanation - that the early sexual experience led to the development of behaviors or beliefs that promote divorce. If the sex was not completely wanted or occurred in a traumatic context, it's easy to imagine how that could have a negative impact on how women might feel about relationships, or on relationship skills.”

However, the research seems to be improper as the facts have been taken from 2002 survey.