Early Sexual Onset and Alcohol Use and Misuse From Adolescence Into Young Adulthood

Little is known about the longitudinal association between early first heterosexual intercourse (e.g., intercourse before the age of 15 years) and alcohol use during adolescence and young adulthood. This study sought to determine whether early first heterosexual intercourse is associated with (1) frequency of alcohol use at age 16 years, (2) changes in alcohol use from ages 16 to 22 years, and (3) alcohol misuse at age 22 years, while controlling for alcohol use, antisocial behavior, pubertal timing, and parental monitoring in early adolescence.

A sample of 289 participants (63% female) was surveyed annually from ages 12 to 22 years.

Latent growth curve modeling indicated that youth who experienced an early first heterosexual intercourse report a higher frequency of alcohol use at age 16 years compared with those who have experienced their first heterosexual intercourse at an "on-time" age. However, timing of first heterosexual intercourse was not related to growth in frequency of alcohol use over time. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that experiencing an early first heterosexual intercourse predicted problematic alcohol use at age 22 years (β = .153, p = .027). These results were found while controlling for confounding individual- and family factor-level variables.

The effect of early first heterosexual intercourse on adolescent alcohol use appears to be long lasting and is associated with a more problematic use of this substance in young adulthood. Further research should be conducted to uncover the developmental processes involved.