GENDER AND ETHNIC-DIFFERENCES IN THE TIMING OF FIRST SEXUAL INTERCOURSE

Context: Whether the effect of gender on the risk of first intercourse is influenced by adolescents' ethnicity has received limited attentio n in research on age at first sex. Such information could provide a mo re complete understanding of adolescent sexual behavior. Methods: Life -table analysis using data from a population-based, ethnically diverse sample of 877 Los Angeles County youths was employed to estimate the median age at first sex for each gender-and-ethnicity group. Multivari ate analysis using proportional hazards techniques was conducted to de termine the relative risk of sexual activity among teenagers in each g roup. Results: Overall, the teenagers in the sample had a median age a t first sex of 16.9 years. Black males had the lowest observed median (15.0), and Asian American males the highest (18.1); white and Hispani c males, and white and black females, reported similar ages (about 16. 5 years). Hispanic and Asian American females had rates of first sex a bout half that of white females, although these protective effects wer e explained by differences in family structure. Even after controlling for background characteristics, black males had rates of first sex th at were about 3-5 times the rates of the other gender-and-ethnicity gr oups. In addition, Asian American males were less likely than Hispanic males to be sexually experienced, and Hispanic males had almost twice the rates of sexual activity of Hispanic females. Conclusions: Socioe conomic conditions account for ethnic differences among females in the age at first sex, and cultural influences may contribute to the diffe rence between Hispanic males and females; explanations for black males , however, remain elusive.