Peer-reviewed article
Prevalence of first sexual intercourse before age 14 and forced sexual intercourse in the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort.
da Silveira MF, Bierhals IO, Tovo-Rodrigues L, Matijasevich A, Santos IS ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of early sexual initiation and forced sexual intercourse among 18-year-olds in a Brazilian birth cohort. About 13% of participants reported having sex before age 14, and 1.6% reported their first sexual intercourse was forced. Boys were more likely to have early sexual initiation, while girls were more likely to experience forced intercourse. The authors recommend better education for adolescents about sexual abuse prevention and reporting.
Key points
- Prevalence of sexual intercourse before age 14 was 13.3% in the cohort
- Forced first sexual intercourse occurred in 1.6% of the sample
- Early sexual initiation was associated with being male, drug use, forced intercourse, and more lifetime sexual partners
- Forced sexual intercourse was more common in girls, those identifying as pansexual, those with early sexual initiation, and those with more lifetime sexual partners
- Study recommends improved guidance for adolescents on sexual abuse, violence prevention, and reporting mechanisms
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional assessment at age 18 based on retrospective reporting of events that occurred years earlier, which may be subject to recall bias or social desirability bias. The study cannot establish causal relationships between the identified factors and early or forced sexual initiation.
Abstract
Objective The study described early sexual initiation, forced sexual initiation, and associated factors in young participants of a Brazilian birth cohort. Methods Participants who, at the 18-year-of-age follow-up, answered yes to the question "Have you ever had sexual intercourse (had sex)?" were included. They were asked about age at first intercourse (< 14 or ≥ 14) and whether it was consensual ("because I wanted to" or "because I was forced"). Factors associated with these outcomes were analyzed by Poisson regression with robust variance according to a hierarchical model. Results The sample consisted of 3255 participants, with a prevalence of sexual intercourse before 14 years of age of 13.3% and of forced first sexual intercourse of 1.6%. First intercourse before 14 years of age was more likely to occur in boys, those who identified as asexual or in the category "other" when asked about their sexual orientation, who currently used drugs daily/almost daily, whose first sexual intercourse was forced, and who had more lifetime sexual partners. First forced sexual intercourse was more likely to occur in girls, those who identified as pansexual, who had sexual intercourse before 14 years of age, and who had more lifetime sexual partners. Conclusions Better guidance is recommended for adolescents regarding sexual abuse and violence and methods of self-preservation and reporting.