Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Corresponding author: , fax , kguzzo bgsu. Adolescence is a key stage for forming knowledge and attitudes about sex and reproduction that may have long-term implications for adult sexual behaviors. Gender differences in experiences and socialization processes may affect the links between adolescent characteristics and adult behaviors.
Models are run separately by gender. Men and women who reported greater physical benefits of sex as adolescents reported more lifetime different-sex sexual partners and were more likely to have concurrent sexual partners in adulthood. For women, adolescent perceptions of more social costs to sex were linked to fewer lifetime sexual partners, whereas greater birth control confidence was linked to more sexual partners.
Women who more strongly felt that avoiding sexually transmitted infections STIs was a hassle during adolescence were less likely to have concurrent sexual partners as adults, and men who were more knowledgeable about condoms during adolescence were more likely to have concurrent sexual partners.
Adolescent knowledge and attitudes about sex, contraception, and reproduction have implications for adult sexual behavior, but different aspects emerge as salient for men and women.
Adolescent attitudes and knowledge are linked to adult behaviors and outcomes, including sexual activity, contraception, and fertility. For instance, adolescent boys with less positive views toward pregnancy were less likely to have become fathers by their late 20s and early 30s 1. Similarly, teen girls with a preference against nonmarital childbearing tended to have children later and within marriage, in part because they delayed sexual activity and used contraception more often 2 , 3.
