Posted on: Monday, August 18, 2003

Teens polled say sex is about love

By Karen S. Peterson
USA Today

Although media tend to focus on teens' sexual relationships as "hookups" without emotional connection, teens themselves see things differently.

Looking back on the first time they had intercourse, 85 percent of sexually active teens viewed their relationship as a "romantic" involvement rather than a casual fling, says a new study from Child Trends, a group that researches children and families.

The project is intended to help parents and educators understand the dynamics of teen relationships. Findings will be of interest both to those who promote abstinence and those who hope teens will delay first intercourse. Government statistics show nearly half of teens have had intercourse before 18.

The study hopes to put adults "in a better position to help teenagers make more responsible decisions about sex," says the report, "The First Time: Characteristics of Teens' First Sexual Relationships."

More than half (61 percent) of those who said it was a romantic relationship had intercourse within three months. "The important message to parents is these romantic relationships transition to sex early on, and they have a small window of opportunity" to influence teens' behavior, says study co-author Suzanne Ryan.

The study raises some alarms: About 25 percent experienced some form of abuse in their first sexual relationship. Verbal abuse included name-calling and insults; physical abuse included pushing, shoving, throwing objects. Hispanics (17 percent) were the most likely to experience physical abuse.

Such findings "are startling, a wake-up call," says Tamara Kreinin of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the U.S. "They show parents and educators need to talk about what a relationship is, what intimacy is." She calls the research "hugely helpful" to those planning programs for teens.