Adolescent girls' perceptions of the timing of their sexual initiation: “too young” or “just right”?

Perceptions of contraception, non-protection and induced abortion among a sample of urban Swedish teenage girls: Focus group discussions

“…In one longitudinal study in which 12-15 year olds reported the time of sexual debut, 78% stated to have had coital experience during that 3-year interval. Of these, 78% thought they had been 'too young' and 22% thought it was 'just right'; the latter reported more often that they had been 'in love' 13 .…”

“…Ten girls reported that they had a steady relationship, and all but one reported that they had had sexual intercourse. The median age at first sexual intercourse was 14.5 (range [13][14][15][16]. The partners of nine of the girls had used a condom during the first intercourse; for three girls no form of contraception was used at first intercourse.…”

First Sexual Intercourse and Subsequent Regret in Three Developing Countries

“…Some studies show higher percentages, especially among females, 8,[11][12][13][32][33][34][35] which may reflect differences in the wording we used to pick up this information. We used "I regret having already had sexual relationships", whereas the references cited above have used "I wish I had waited longer".…”

Having Sex and Condom Use: Potential Risks and Benefits Reported by Young, Sexually Inexperienced Adolescents

“…Malus et al [28] found that 20% of 13-18-yearold respondents identified that they were interested in discussing the "right age for sex" with their physicians. Cotton et al [30] reported that over three-quarters of sexually experienced girls (12-15 years old) reported feeling they were too young the first time they had consensual intercourse. This finding is important in light of the Healthy People 2010 goals of increasing the age of initiation of sex [1].…”