Pubertal Timing and Early Sexual Intercourse in the Offspring of Teenage Mothers

• NCJ Number: 237123
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 40 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2011 Pages: 1315-1328
• Author(s): Natacha M. De Genna; Cynthia Larkby; Marie D. Cornelius
• Date Published: October 2011
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers.

Abstract

Early puberty is associated with stressful family environments, early sexual intercourse, and teenage pregnancy. The authors examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers. Mothers (71 percent Black, 29 percent 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 percent 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. (Published Abstract)