title: Intercourse debut age: poor resources, problem behavior, or romantic appeal? a population-based longitudinal study.
abstract: The most important predictors of early intercourse debut are reported to be poor social resources and early developing problem behaviors. In this study we have a new, additional emphasis on variables related to self-concept and social acceptance. In a population-based longitudinal study, 1399 Norwegians were followed over a 7-year span. We analyzed data using multivariate Cox-regression techniques. Early intercourse debut was part of a broader spectrum of problem behaviors, including early alcohol intoxication and early-developing conduct problems. A new finding was that a positive self-concept in the domain of  romantic appeal  was also a strong predictor, but only for boys. We suggest that the findings may have important implications for prevention and more research should be conducted along this line.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Oslo, Box 1096, 0317 Blindern, Oslo, Norway. willy.pedersen@sosiologi.uio.no.
authors.forename: Willy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: Sven Ove
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Samuelsen
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wichstrom
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D003075:Coitus / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012932:Social Facilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires