Child sexual abuse and premarital intercourse among high-risk adolescents

This study examined the extent to which child sexual abuse was associated with an increased likelihood of premarital sex among adolescents at high risk of sexual abuse. The sample consisted of 177 teenage girls who, because of evidence of family dysfunction, had become part of a public child welfare system. Half the sample had been placed in a foster home and the remainder were receiving protective services in their own home. About 40% of the teens in both groups had been sexually abused, although teens still living at home were less likely to have reported abuse. Victims of sexual abuse were found to be more likely to have engaged in voluntary sexual intercourse, even after background factors were controlled. Teens in foster home were somewhat less likely to be sexually active than the teens who remained at home.