title: Does early sexual debut reduce teenagers' participation in tertiary education? Evidence from the SHARE longitudinal study.
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.
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow, United Kingdom. alison-p@sphsu.mrc.ac.uk
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parkes
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wight
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D001240:Aspirations, Psychological; D001290:Attitude; D003075:Coitus / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012307:Risk Factors; D012606:Scotland; D012736:Sex Education; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires