Federal government websites often end in. The site is secure. Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October Learn More or Try it out now. There are limited data on the patterns of early sexual behaviours among Australian teenage heterosexual boys. This study describes the nature and onset of early sexual experiences in this population through a cross-sectional survey.
There were men in the study with a median age of Median age at first oral sex was Most men had engaged in oral sex Median age at first anal sex was These data provide insights into the trajectory of sexual behaviours experienced by teenage heterosexual boys following sexual debut, findings which can inform programme promoting sexual health among teenage boys.
Risk taking, which is part of the normal development process and experience among adolescents, 1 may expose young people to sexually transmitted infections STI and unintended pregnancy. Some studies have linked early initiation of sexual activity among adolescents with higher rates of unintended pregnancy, experiences of sexual violence, higher numbers of sexual partners, STIs and engagement in anal sex.
Most studies have used an arbitrary age cut-off to define early sexual intercourse, ranging from 13 years in the US Youth Risk Behaviour Survey 6 to 16 years in Australian, 2 and British surveys.
To our knowledge, no previous studies have examined the temporal order of and the average time interval between first oral, vaginal and anal sex among teenage heterosexual boys. Understanding the patterns of early sexual behaviours of teenage boys could inform public health messages and programme aimed at improving the sexual health of young people.
