Teen Sex Can Be Psychologically, Emotionally Healthy

A new study conducted at the University of Virginia contradicts earlier research reports and concerns that teen sex is emotionally and psychologically unhealthy and leads to drug use and criminality and social and emotional problems. The new study actually reports that teens who engage in sex are more likely to develop stronger relationships in adulthood and does not lead to delinquent behavior.

The study was conducted by Kathryn Paige Harden, a Ph.D. candidate for clinical psychology at the University of Virginia. The study contradicts studies and analogies that have been conducted earlier. Researchers at UCSF reported in a February 2007 study that a large percentage of girls who engage in sex in their teen years, later feel ashamed and used. Years earlier, Psychologist David Walsh even went so far as to say that early sex distorts ones perception of what a relationship really is, making relationships seem purely physical, and making it impossible to have long lasting, trusting, communicative relationships in adulthood (USA Today, 2005).

Harden's study was a prolonged study examining the activities and data of 534 same-sex twin pairs in the United States. Data was gathered from the twins at three points in time over the course of seven years. The purpose in focusing the study on the activities of twins was to eliminate genetic and socio-economic variables that can influence the data from teen behaviors.

Harden claims that her results show that early sex leads to less antisocial behavior in older years, rather than more antisocial behavior, as has been asserted in earlier studies. Her studies show that teens have better relationships in their adult years when they engage in sex early, contrary to commonly held notions that teen sex is psychologically unhealthy.