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Title: Early Sexual Behavior and First Union Formation in Young Adults
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Vespa, Jonathan Edward |
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Early Sexual Behavior and First Union Formation in Young Adults M.A. Thesis, Ohio State University, Department of Sociology, 2006 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) Keyword(s): Age at First Intercourse; Cohabitation; Marriage; Sexual Behavior Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Using the first six rounds of data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), this research analyzes the role of sexual behavior on union formation for 6,700 adolescents and young adults ages 18 to 22 years. I investigate the effects of age at first sex and number of sexual partners on whether individuals enter a first co-residential union in early adulthood, and among those who do, whether their first union is marriage or cohabitation. Results show that earlier sexual activity and more sexual partners prior to first union significantly increase the likelihood of experiencing cohabitation as one's first co-residential union. Sexually active adolescents are significantly less likely to enter marriages or delay union formation altogether compared to their counterparts who delayed first sex and had fewer sexual partners. These findings suggest that individuals who enter these cohabiting first unions have significantly different sexual behavior than those who enter early marriages or stay single. Cohabitation has emerged as an alternative union type to marriage in which individuals' sexual behavior prior to union formation significantly influences the kind of first union they first experience. |
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Bibliography Citation
Vespa, Jonathan Edward. Early Sexual Behavior and First Union Formation in Young Adults. M.A. Thesis, Ohio State University, Department of Sociology, 2006. |