Changing Trends in Sexual Debut Age in the Korean Internet Sexuality Survey

To evaluate changing trends in relation to the sexual debut age and socioeconomic status (SES) in Korea.

The Korean Internet Sexuality Survey (KISS) was conducted for in 2004, 2006, 2014, and 2016. We sent emails and surveyed people registered at an Internet survey agency. To determine the changing trends in sexual debut age, we collected and compared the responses of females in their 20s in 2004 (n=253) and 2014 (n=131) and collected and compared the responses of males in their 20s in 2006 (n=87) and 2016 (n=200).

In females, SES factors such as occupation, income, and academic background were not related to early sexual debut age. In the 2006 male study, early sexual debut age was associated with occupation, income, and academic background. However, in the 2016 male study, participants' academic background was the only significant factor about early sexual debut age. In both the male and female studies, early sexual debut age was related to a higher number of sexual partners in life. Also, in both female cohorts (2004 and 2014), the number of pregnancies and the incidents of sexual abuse experienced were higher in the early sexual debut groups.

Factors influencing early sexual debut were different in time and between men and women. And there was no significant association between SES factors and early sexual debut age in women. However, early sexual debut caused multiple problems, especially in young women. Thus, we need to create some suitable strategies to address these problems.