Table 1

Premarital Intercourse and Adolescent Sexual Activity

A. Sexual Experience

% ever having pre-marital, heterosexual partner among ever-married

Birth
Cohorts

Men

Women

Before 1910

60.8

12.3

1910-1919

73.9

28.6

1920-1929

79.7

31.4

1930-1939

87.2

40.9

1940-1949

89.5

62.9

Source: Turner, Miller, and Moses, 1989 and Klassen, Williams, Levitt, Rudkin-Miniot, Miller, and Gunjal, 1989

% ever virgins at marriage: Ever married

Birth
Cohorts

Men

Women

1933-42

21.9

54.4

1943-52

15.4

28.9

1953-62

13.5

20.0

1963-74

16.3

20.1

Source: Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, and Michaels, 1994

% having sex with spouse before marriage: Ever married

Birth
Cohorts

Men

Women

1933-42

32.6

30.7

1943-53

48.6

51.1

1953-62

56.3

55.9

1963-74

69.8

57.7

Source: Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, and Michaels, 1994

% ever having premarital sex: Women, 15-19

All

Whites

Blacks

1970

28.6

26.7

46.0

1975

36.4

35.4

50.8

1980

42.0

41.4

58.1

1985

44.1

43.1

55.4

1988

51.5

50.6

58.8

Source: Divs. of Vital Statistics & STD/HIV Prevention, 1991

% ever having premarital sex: Women 15-19 in metropolitan areas

1971

30.3

26.4

53.7

1976

43.4

38.3

66.3

1979

49.8

46.6

66.2

1982

44.9

43.3

53.6

Source: Hofferth, Kahn, and Baldwin, 1987 (NSYW+NSFG82)

% ever having premarital sex: Women 15-19

1971

31.7

39.0

51.2

1976

39.0

36.2

56.1

1979

43.4

40.8

61.6

1982

45.2

43.1

56.5

Source: Hoffert, Kahn, and Baldwin, 1987 (NSFG82)

% ever having premarital sex: Males 17-19 in Metropolitan Areas

1979

65.7

64.5

71.1

1988

75.5

73.0

87.7

Source: Sonenstein, Pleck, and Ku, 1989

% ever having sex with female: Never-married males, age 17.5-19

1988

75.0

1991

78.6

Source: Ku, Sonenstein, and Pleck, 1993

% ever having sex: High school students

All

Whites

Blacks

Men

Women

1989

59

----

----

----

----

1990

54.2

51.6

72.3

60.8

48.0

1991

54.1

50.0

81.4

57.4

50.8

1993

53.0

48.4

79.7

55.6

50.2

1995

53.1

48.9

73.4

54.0

52.1

1997

48.4

43.6

72.7

48.8

47.7

Source: Moore, et al., 1992 and Divs. of Epidemiology and Prevention; Adolescent and School Hlth.; and Reproductive Hlth., 1992; "Youth Risk Behavior Survey," 1995; and Div. of Adolescent and School Health, 1995; Division of Adolescent and School Health, et al., 1998; Kann, et al., 1998; and Warren, et al., 1998.

% sexually active: Women, 15-19

1985

44.7

1990

51.3

1995

51.1

Source: Hogan, Sun, and Cornwell, 1998

% ever had sex: Females, 15-19

1970

29

1975

36

1982

47

1988

53

1990

55

1995

50

Source: Moore, Driscoll, and Lindberg, 1998

% ever had sex with female: Males, 15-19

1988

60.4

1995

55.2

Source: Sonenstein, Ku, Lindberg, Turner, and Pleck, 1998

% sexually active during last 3 months: High school students

All

Males

Females

1990

39.4

42.5

36.4

1991

37.4

36.8

38.2

1993

37.5

37.5

37.5

1995

37.9

35.5

40.4

1997

34.8

33.4

36.5

Source: Div. of Adolescent and School Health, et al., 1998; and Warren, et al., 1997

% with sex partners before age 18, Adults in 1992

Birth
Cohorts

Men

Women

1933-42

41.5

18.5

1943-52

47.6

20.3

1953-62

53.3

41.2

1963-74

60.3

52.8

Source: Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, and Michaels, 1994

% ever having sex: High school students

1994

41-42

Source: "Teens Talk," 1994

% ever had sexual intercourse: College Students, 18-24

1995

79.5

Source: Douglas, Collins, et al., 1997

% ever had sexual intercourse with Female, Males, 15-19

1995

68.1-63.9

Note: First number is from self-completion using paper. Second number is from audio-computer assisted, self-completion.

Source: Turner, et al., 1998

% ever had sexual intercourse: Ages 13-18

All

Males

Females

1997

31

36

26

Source: National Survey of Teens, 1998

B. Sexual Experience by Age

% reporting premarital, heterosexual intercourse by ages 16 and 18

Birth

Men

Women

Cohorts

16

18

16

18

Pre-1900

24.0

36.8

2.7

3.3

1900-1909

23.9

40.2

4.8

6.5

1910-1919

28.7

51.3

6.3

9.6

1920-1929

45.0

66.1

4.9

12.4

1930-1939

47.4

69.1

10.0

21.0

1940-1949

50.2

76.6

19.1

37.2

Source: Klassen, et al., 1989

% reporting premarital sexual intercourse by ages 16/18, women in 1982

Birth Cohorts

16

18

1938-40

7.4

23.0

1941-43

7.4

22.7

1944-46

7.1

22.6

1947-49

10.1

29.3

1950-52

6.6

26.9

1953-55

14.5

43.1

1956-58

17.9

45.5

1959-61

18.9

46.4

1962-64

23.1

54.0

Source: Hofferth, Kahn, and Baldwin, 1987

% sexually experienced at ages 15 and 17, Women

15

17

1970

4.6

32.3

1975

9.8

36.6

1980

16.7

35.5

1985

20.0

41.7

1988

25.6

51.0

Source: Divs. of Vital Statistics & STD/HIV Prevention, 1991

Median Age at First Intercourse: High School Students

All

Males

Females