A recent research made on 7,000 adolescents reveals that teens who start their sexual life significantly earlier than their counterparts also have higher levels of delinquency in later years.

Early sex induced a 20 % increase in delinquent acts one year later compared to teens that had their first sexual experience at the average age. On the contrary, teens who had their first sexual experience later than the average presented delinquency levels 50 % lower a year later, compared to those who had it at an average time.

The trend was valid for up to six years. "We're not finding that sex itself leads to delinquency, but instead, that beginning sexual relationships long before your friends is cause for concern," said Stacy Armour, co-author of the study and a doctoral student in sociology at Ohio State University. "Those who start having sex too young may not be prepared to deal with the potential emotional, social and behavioral consequences of their actions", said Dana Haynie, associate professor of sociology at Ohio State.

The team employed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, with students in grades 7 to 12 at 132 high schools and middle schools.

The average age of the first sexual intercourse was calculated for each school, ranging from 11.25 to 17.5 years. "That way, the respondents in the study are compared to the peers in their own school, rather than an arbitrary age that is deemed the average age for everyone," Armour said.

Early sex debut is considered that which occurred about one year or more before the average for their school.

Students were interviewed how often in the last year they presented a delinquent behavior, including painting graffiti, deliberately damaging property, stealing, or selling drugs to assess their rates of delinquency. 9 % had their first experience significantly earlier than their counterparts, 58 % were average, and 33 % had the first sexual intercourse significantly later than others.

The team focused on many factors that influence how long teens wait to have sex, like race, family structure, socioeconomic status, school performance, depression, the bonds with the parents, amongst others. "The link between early sex and delinquency probably has to do with the whole social context of the young adolescents' lives. If you're having sex a lot earlier than your friends, you may be hanging out with a new group of kids, ones who are probably older. Having sex brings with it this feeling of being an adult. They may feel like they can do things older kids do, and for some that may include delinquency", said Armour.

The negative effects of early sex persisted into early adulthood; later, when the subjects were between 18 and 26 years, the age of first sex experience was still linked with high levels of delinquency. "The timing of events such as sexual activity can have profound consequences for adolescents, particularly when they occur prematurely," Armour said.

"Those adolescents who waited longer than average may be developing friendships and relationships that can help protect them from potentially troublesome behaviors as they become young adults. Sex itself is not always a problem behavior. But the timing of sexual initiation does matter. Adolescents need to be at a stage when they are developmentally prepared for it", she explained.