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Is “Sexual Competence” at First Heterosexual Intercourse Associated With Subsequent Sexual Health Status?

The timing of first sexual intercourse is often defined in terms of chronological age, with particular focus on “early” first sex. Arguments can be made for a more nuanced concept of readiness and appropriateness of timing of first intercourse. Using data from the third National Survey of Sexual Att...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Palmer, Melissa J., Clarke, Lynda, Ploubidis, George B., Mercer, Catherine H., Gibson, Lorna J., Johnson, Anne M., Copas, Andrew J., Wellings, Kaye
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Taylor & Francis 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214675/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26891245
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2015.1134424
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author Palmer, Melissa J.
Clarke, Lynda
Ploubidis, George B.
Mercer, Catherine H.
Gibson, Lorna J.
Johnson, Anne M.
Copas, Andrew J.
Wellings, Kaye
author_facet Palmer, Melissa J.
Clarke, Lynda
Ploubidis, George B.
Mercer, Catherine H.
Gibson, Lorna J.
Johnson, Anne M.
Copas, Andrew J.
Wellings, Kaye
author_sort Palmer, Melissa J.
collection PubMed
description The timing of first sexual intercourse is often defined in terms of chronological age, with particular focus on “early” first sex. Arguments can be made for a more nuanced concept of readiness and appropriateness of timing of first intercourse. Using data from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3), conducted in 2010–2012, this study examined whether a context-based measure of first intercourse—termed sexual competence—was associated with subsequent sexual health in a population-based sample of 17-to 24-year-olds residing in Britain (n = 2,784). Participants were classified as “sexually competent” at first intercourse if they reported the following four criteria: contraceptive protection, autonomy of decision (not due to external influences), that both partners were “equally willing,” and that it happened at the “right time.” A lack of sexual competence at first intercourse was independently associated with testing positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) at interview; low sexual function in the past year; and among women only, reported sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis ever; unplanned pregnancy in the past year; and having ever experienced nonvolitional sex. These findings provide empirical support for defining the nature of first intercourse with reference to contextual aspects of the experience, as opposed to a sole focus on chronological age at occurrence.
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spelling pubmed-52146752017-02-01 Is “Sexual Competence” at First Heterosexual Intercourse Associated With Subsequent Sexual Health Status? Palmer, Melissa J. Clarke, Lynda Ploubidis, George B. Mercer, Catherine H. Gibson, Lorna J. Johnson, Anne M. Copas, Andrew J. Wellings, Kaye J Sex Res Articles The timing of first sexual intercourse is often defined in terms of chronological age, with particular focus on “early” first sex. Arguments can be made for a more nuanced concept of readiness and appropriateness of timing of first intercourse. Using data from the third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3), conducted in 2010–2012, this study examined whether a context-based measure of first intercourse—termed sexual competence—was associated with subsequent sexual health in a population-based sample of 17-to 24-year-olds residing in Britain (n = 2,784). Participants were classified as “sexually competent” at first intercourse if they reported the following four criteria: contraceptive protection, autonomy of decision (not due to external influences), that both partners were “equally willing,” and that it happened at the “right time.” A lack of sexual competence at first intercourse was independently associated with testing positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) at interview; low sexual function in the past year; and among women only, reported sexually transmitted infection (STI) diagnosis ever; unplanned pregnancy in the past year; and having ever experienced nonvolitional sex. These findings provide empirical support for defining the nature of first intercourse with reference to contextual aspects of the experience, as opposed to a sole focus on chronological age at occurrence. Taylor & Francis 2017-01-02 2016-02-18 /pmc/articles/PMC5214675/ /pubmed/26891245 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2015.1134424 Text en Published with license by Taylor & Francis. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Articles
Palmer, Melissa J.
Clarke, Lynda
Ploubidis, George B.
Mercer, Catherine H.
Gibson, Lorna J.
Johnson, Anne M.
Copas, Andrew J.
Wellings, Kaye
Is “Sexual Competence” at First Heterosexual Intercourse Associated With Subsequent Sexual Health Status?
title Is “Sexual Competence” at First Heterosexual Intercourse Associated With Subsequent Sexual Health Status?
title_full Is “Sexual Competence” at First Heterosexual Intercourse Associated With Subsequent Sexual Health Status?
title_fullStr Is “Sexual Competence” at First Heterosexual Intercourse Associated With Subsequent Sexual Health Status?
title_full_unstemmed Is “Sexual Competence” at First Heterosexual Intercourse Associated With Subsequent Sexual Health Status?
title_short Is “Sexual Competence” at First Heterosexual Intercourse Associated With Subsequent Sexual Health Status?
title_sort is “sexual competence” at first heterosexual intercourse associated with subsequent sexual health status?
topic Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214675/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26891245
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2015.1134424
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