Adolescent Sexual Activity

The age at first intercourse has declined over the past several decades before leveling off in the mid-1990s. Today, almost half off all teenagers have sex before graduating from high school. This trend has generated a good deal of research and policy attention. Most of the extant research explores what leads to early sex. The focus on determinants of sex stems from concern about the serious negative outcomes of teen pregnancy and STDs. While pregnancy and STDs can be devastating, most sexually active teens do not experience these outcomes. In the policy domain, federal legislation grants funding to states that support abstinence-only education. The goal of this curriculum is to promote abstinence until marriage as the only route to healthy sexual development. An important premise of this legislation is that sex outside of marriage has negative physical, psychological and social effects. While we know sex exposes teens to pregnancy and STDs, we know little about the effects of sex on other domains of well-being. This project investigates the effects of first sex on several aspects of adolescent well being – mental health, attitudes, religiosity and relationships with parents and peers.

Research Papers:

Meier, Ann. 2003. “Adolescents’ Transition to Intercourse, Religiosity and Attitudes about Sex.” Social Forces 81(3): 1031-1052.

Meier, Ann. 2007. “Adolescent First Sex and Subsequent Mental Health.” American Journal of Sociology 112(8): 1811-1847.

Meier, Ann. 2004. “Consistency and Change in Adolescent Social Relationships: Family, Peer and Romantic Relationships.” Presented at the bi-annual meeting for the Society for Research on Adolescents, April 2004. Baltimore, MD.


			Ann Meier Assistant Professor Department of Sociology University of Minnesota, 1146 Social Sciences 267 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455 Tel: (612) 626-7230, Fax: (612) 624-7020 email: meierann@umn.edu
			Adolescent Sexual Activity and Well-Being The age at first intercourse has declined over the past several decades before leveling off in the mid-1990s. Today, almost half off all teenagers have sex before graduating from high school. This trend has generated a good deal of research and policy attention. Most of the extant research explores what leads to early sex. The focus on determinants of sex stems from concern about the serious negative outcomes of teen pregnancy and STDs. While pregnancy and STDs can be devastating, most sexually active teens do not experience these outcomes. In the policy domain, federal legislation grants funding to states that support abstinence-only education. The goal of this curriculum is to promote abstinence until marriage as the only route to healthy sexual development. An important premise of this legislation is that sex outside of marriage has negative physical, psychological and social effects. While we know sex exposes teens to pregnancy and STDs, we know little about the effects of sex on other domains of well-being. This project investigates the effects of first sex on several aspects of adolescent well being – mental health, attitudes, religiosity and relationships with parents and peers. Research Papers: Meier, Ann. 2003. “Adolescents’ Transition to Intercourse, Religiosity and Attitudes about Sex.” Social Forces 81(3): 1031-1052. Meier, Ann. 2007. “Adolescent First Sex and Subsequent Mental Health.” American Journal of Sociology 112(8): 1811-1847. Meier, Ann. 2004. “Consistency and Change in Adolescent Social Relationships: Family, Peer and Romantic Relationships.” Presented at the bi-annual meeting for the Society for Research on Adolescents, April 2004. Baltimore, MD.
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Adolescent Sexual Activity and Well-Being