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Predictors of Sexual Debut at Age 16 or Younger

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Abstract

The present study examined the extent to which variables within the self system (i.e., symptoms of alcohol dependence and conduct disorder, gender, race, and metropolitan status) and the familial system (i.e., having an alcohol dependent biological parent or second-degree relative, religious background, educational background of parents, and being born to a teenage mother) were associated with sexual debut at 16 years old or earlier. Participants were 1,054 biological relatives, aged 18–25 years, of alcohol dependent probands who participated in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism project. Comparison participants (N = 234) without alcohol dependent biological parents were also evaluated. Clinical and sociodemographic variables were assessed by structured, personal interviews. Parental history of alcohol dependence was evaluated by direct interview of parents in most cases and family history in uninterviewed parents. In a multivariate survival analysis, increased risk of becoming sexually active at 16 years of age or earlier was significantly associated with 6 of the 10 predictor variables, including race, one or more alcohol dependence symptoms, and/or one or more conduct disorder symptoms. Having an alcohol dependent biological parent or second-degree relative (e.g., aunt, uncle, or grandparent), educational background of mother, and being born to a teenage mother were also significantly associated with increased risk. These results provide evidence that specific variables in the self and familial systems of influence are important in predicting sexual debut at 16 years old or earlier.

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Acknowledgments

This publication was made possible by Grant Numbers UL1 RR024992 and KL2 RR024994 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA), Co-Principal Investigators B. Porjesz, V. Hesselbrock, H. Edenberg, L. Bierut, includes nine different centers where data collection, analysis, and storage take place. The nine sites and Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators are: University of Connecticut (V. Hesselbrock); Indiana University (H. J. Edenberg, J. Nurnberger Jr., P. M. Conneally, T. Foroud); University of Iowa (S. Kuperman, R. Crowe); SUNY Downstate (B. Porjesz); Washington University in St. Louis (L. Bierut, A. Goate, J. Rice); University of California at San Diego (M. Schuckit); Howard University (R. Taylor); Rutgers University (J. Tischfield); Southwest Foundation (L. Almasy). Zhaoxia Ren serves as the NIAAA Staff Collaborator. This national collaborative study is supported by the NIH Grant U10AA008401 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). In memory of Henri Begleiter and Theodore Reich, Principal and Co-Principal Investigators of COGA since its inception; we are indebted to their leadership in the establishment and nurturing of COGA, and acknowledge with great admiration their seminal scientific contributions to the field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Washington University, Campus Box 8134, 660 South Euclid, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg, Kathleen K. Bucholz & Laura Jean Bierut

  2. Department of Mathematics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Edward L. Spitznagel

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    John Nurnberger Jr.

  4. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Howard J. Edenberg

  5. Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, USA

    John R. Kramer & Samuel Kuperman

  6. Department of Psychiatry, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, USA

    Victor Hesselbrock

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  1. Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg
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  2. Edward L. Spitznagel
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Correspondence to Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg.

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Cavazos-Rehg, P.A., Spitznagel, E.L., Bucholz, K.K. et al. Predictors of Sexual Debut at Age 16 or Younger. Arch Sex Behav 39, 664–673 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9397-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9397-y

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