PROVISION OF SEX-EDUCATION AND EARLY SEXUAL EXPERIENCE - THE RELATIONEXAMINED

Objective-To explore the relation between receipt of sex education and experience of first intercourse. Subjects and design-The national sur vey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles is based on a sample of 18 876 respondents aged 16-59, randomly selected from the Post Office's small -user postcode address file. Data were collected between May 1990 and November 1991 by personal interviews combining a self administered que stionnaire with a face to face interview. Main outcome measures-Age at first intercourse, use of contraception at first intercourse, actual and preferred source of sex education (including school based lessons) . Results-Median age at first intercourse fell by four years for women and three years for men over the past four decades, to 17 for both me n and women aged 16-19 at the time of interview. Of those respondents for whom school was the main source of information about sexual matter s, men were less likely, and women no more likely, to have had interco urse before the age of 16 than were those citing other main sources, s uch as friends and the media. Both men and women were more likely to h ave used some method of contraception. In multivariate analysis, these effects remained after controlling for the effect of current age, edu cational attainment, and religious affiliation. Conclusions-These data provide no evidence to support the concern that provision of school s ex education might hasten the onset of sexual experience, These findin gs have important implications for the provision of sexual health educ ation and highlight the need to carry out prospective and randomised s tudies of the impact of sex education,