Age Of First Sex Is Genetic

According to results of a study done by the University of Oregon and published on the BBC, nature rules over nurture when it comes to age of first sex.

The study looked at cousins and their family situations such as presence or absence of a father-figure, poverty, education, and religion. It was concluded that “the more genes the children shared, the more similar their ages of first intercourse regardless of whether they had an absent father or not”.

Genetic factors that lead to certain behaviours related to earlier sexual initiation include “these include impulsivity, substance use and abuse, argumentativeness and sensation seeking”.

As this is probably the first study of this kind it is important to remember not to get too excited about the results. Many more studies need to be done on this before any conclusions can be drawn.

Personally, I have always been a fence-sitter when it comes to the Nature vs. Nurture debate over human behaviour. We are such complex creatures with so many influences on our lives that I think it is impossible to draw out and separate these influences. I also like to think that we have evolved beyond the animal urges and that our consciousness and intelligence has some bearing on how we interact with the world.

Until more research is done on the genetic influences on sexual behaviour, the only conclusion we can really draw from this, which, I believe, is just stating the obvious yet again, is that young people need access to good sexual health education so they can protect themselves and make healthy decisions, no matter what age they are when they first become sexually active.