A Longitudinal Investigation of the Relationship between Educational Investment and Adolescent Sexual Activity

Abstract

The relation between educational investment and sexual behavior was examined longitudinally in a sample of479 rural adolescents. Surveys were administered to the subjects twice-once when they were in the 8th, 9th, and 10th grades, and again 2 years later, when they were in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. Results indicated that among girls, educational investment predicted sexual activity, with academic grades in school significantly predicting reportedfrequency of sexual activity 2 years later. In contrast,forboys, sexual involvement predicted later educational investment, particularly involvement in academic activities. These findings suggest different developmental pattems for boys and girls. For girls, academic involvement may limit their sexual activity. However, sexual activity does not seem to reduce educational involvement. In contrast, sexual activity is associated with less involvement in academic activities for boys. The possible reasons for these gender differences are discussed.

The association of sexual behaviors with socioeconomic status, family structure, and race/ethnicity among US adolescents

“…40 Parental expectations about success in school may protect against a variety of health risk behaviors, and adolescent connectedness to school may contribute to a delay in the initiation of sexual intercourse. 41 Adolescents who have high aspirations and have opportunities to implement these are less likely to contemplate early childbearing.…”

Timing of first sexual intercourse: The role of social control, social learning, and problem behavior

“…If adolescent sexual intercourse represents a form of deviance, we would expect precocious intercourse to be associated with a weak attachment to parents and with low involvement in conventional institutions such as church and school. In support of this hypothesis, research has documented a link between poor parent-child relationships and sexual experience for girls (Fox, 1981;Chilman, 1986), as well as an association between low educational aspirations or performance and sexual activity for both sexes (Miller and Sneesby, 1988;Ohannessian and Crockett, 1992). In addition, adolescent sexual activity appears to be associated with lower religiosity (Bingham et at., 1990;Jessor and Jessor, 1977).…”

Adolescent Sexuality: Behavior and Meaning

“…Adolescents with higher educational aspirations and better academic performance tend to postpone fi rst intercourse (Jessor et al, 1983;Miller & Sneesby, 1988) and have sex less often (Ohannessian & Crockett, 1993). Time spent in academic activities is also negatively related to early intercourse, especially for girls Whitbeck et al, 1999).…”