title: Correlates of age at first sexual intercourse in a national sample of young women.
abstract: A subsample of 814 sexually experienced adolescent females from the 1979 U.S. National Survey of Young Women was analyzed to assess the correlates of age at 1st sexual intercourse.  Multiple regression procedures were used to examine sets of variables sequentially.  In the hierarchical regression model, the control variables (respondent's age, race, religion, and age at menarche), along with 3 independent variables (household income, ideal age at 1st marriage, and ideal age for 1st birth), predicted age at 1st intercourse.  The control variables accounted for a major portion of the variance in the model.  Of the controls, chronological age and age at menarche were highly significant across all models tested.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000569:Americas; D001290:Attitude; D001519:Behavior; D003469:Culture; D003625:Data Collection; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D004467:Economics; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity; D005191:Family Characteristics; D007182:Income; D008572:Menarche; D008598:Menstruation; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009656:North America; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D011584:Psychology; D012067:Religion; D012098:Reproduction; D012106:Research; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014481:United States
keywords: Adolescents; Adolescents, Female; Age Distribution; Age Factors; Americas; Attitude; Behavior; Cultural Background; Data Analysis; Data Collection; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Economic Factors; Educational Status; Ethnic Groups; Family And Household; Family Characteristics; Income; Menarche; Menstruation; Models, Theoretical; North America; Northern America; Population; Population Characteristics; Psychological Factors; Religion; Reproduction; Research Methodology; Sex Behavior; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Status; United States; Youth