[Has the age at sexual debut changed after the Safe Sex Campaign?]

Abstract

In 1984, immediately before information about AIDS had reached the general public and the campaign for "Safe sex" had begun in earnest, 286 women (percentage replies 75.3) and 336 men (percentage replies 77.8) who were over 16 years but not yet 21 years were interviewed about sexual knowledge, sexual experience and contraception. In October 1989, the investigation was repeated and 359 women (percentage replies 77.9) and 400 men (percentage replies 76.3) participated. Both of the investigations were carried out as personal interviews by the professional interviewer staff of the Institute for Social Research. The age profiles for the first coitus were found to be practically identical in the two investigations. The median age for the first coitus was calculated to be 16.7 years in 1984 and 16.8 years in 1989 for females and 16.9 years for males in both 1984 and 1989. In both of the investigations, the majority stated that the first coitus was with a person of the same age group. Just under 1/4 of the women and nearly 1/3 of the men stated that the first coitus was also the first for the partner. In the 1989 investigation, significantly more stated that they had employed contraception at the first coitus. The campaign for "Safe sex" had recommended condoms. In the 1989 investigation, 61.0% of the women and 62.0% of the men had employed condoms at the first coitus as compared with 36.5% of the women and 42.1% of the men, five years previously. Parental advice about contraception had also changed as a great many more stated that their parents had advised them to use condoms as a contraceptive measure in the 1989 investigation. Among the young people who had not yet had coitus, 24.4% of the women and 34.7% of the men stated in 1989 that they always had a condom handy when they thought they might need it.