Pubertal timing and early sexual intercourse in the offspring of teenage mothers

J Youth Adolesc. 2011 Oct;40(10):1315-28. doi: 10.1007/s10964-010-9609-3. Epub 2011 Jan 29.

Abstract

Early puberty is associated with stressful family environments, early sexual intercourse, and teenage pregnancy. We examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers. Mothers (71% Black, 29% White) were recruited as pregnant teenagers (12-18 years old). Data were collected during pregnancy and when offspring were 6, 10 and 14 years old (n = 318). Adolescents (50% male) compared the timing of their pubertal maturation to same-sex peers. There was a significant 3-way interaction effect of race, sex, and pubertal timing on sexual debut (n = 305). This effect remained significant in a model controlling for maternal age at first intercourse, substance use, exposure to trauma, authoritative parenting, and peer sexual activity (n = 255). Early maturation was associated with early sex in daughters, and may be one pathway for the inter-generational transfer of risk for teenage pregnancy among daughters of teenage mothers.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior* / ethnology
  • Adolescent Behavior* / physiology
  • Age Factors
  • Black or African American / psychology
  • Child
  • Coitus
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Logistic Models
  • Male
  • Models, Psychological
  • Parenting
  • Peer Group
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy in Adolescence*
  • Prospective Studies
  • Puberty* / psychology
  • Self Report
  • Sex Factors
  • Sexual Behavior* / ethnology
  • Sexual Behavior* / physiology
  • Substance-Related Disorders
  • White People / psychology