Sex and Juvenile Delinquency

It has been a consistent finding of social research on adolescent behavior that young people who have sex early are more likely to become juvenile delinquents than are young people who have sex later.  This conclusion has been so strongly held that it has become a standard argument in the “abstinence only” programs sponsored by the federal government.The research evidence for this conclusion came from several juvenile studies.  One such study, for example, was done by researchers at Ohio State University.  This nation-wide study examined over 7,000 teens, on a number of health-related and social variables.  One of its findings was a strong correlation between having sex early and a likelihood to engage in juvenile delinquent behavior. 

The researchers hypothesized a causal relationship.  Early sex leads to higher likelihood of delinquency.  There is just one thing wrong with this conclusion.  It is most likely incorrect.The error here is one that is sometimes made in social-scientific studies.  The researchers saw a causal relationship between two sequential behaviors that occur in an individual.  Simply because one behavior follows another, does not necessarily mean that the first behavior caused the second.

University of Virginia researcher, Paige Harden, did not believe the conclusions drawn by the Ohio State researchers.  Harden and her colleagues reanalyzed the Ohio State data taking a closer look at the twins from that study.  These researchers examined identical twin pairs in which one twin initiated sex younger than the other.  It is useful to study identical twins in research like this because they have the same set of genes and a very similar home environment.  If early sex really adds to the chance of delinquent behavior, then the early-sex twin should end up delinquent more often than the later-sex twin.  No positive relationship, between age of first sex and delinquency, was discovered.

So if early sex and a propensity toward delinquency are not causally related, why are these two behaviors so often found in the same individual?  The University of Virginia researcher did not offer a scientific answer to this question.  However, it is likely that some yet undiscovered factor is causing both behaviors, perhaps a genetic predisposition to risky behavior.  More study is necessary.

The point here is not that we should be unconcerned about kids having sex early in life.  On the contrary, we should be very concerned because of sexually transmitted disease and unwanted pregnancies.  But these findings do call into question the usefulness of promoting abstinence as a means of preventing delinquency.  “Abstinence only” educators maintain that having sex early (The national average age for teens losing their virginity is 16 years) is always bad.  They are so focused on abstinence, that they refuse to even discuss disease prevention and contraception.  They spend millions of federal dollars promoting abstinence, because, they argue, it helps prevent delinquent behavior.  Perhaps these dollars might be better spent dealing directly with the causes of delinquency. 

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