Volume 46 - Article 13 | Pages 355–396
Diverse pathways in young Italians’ entrance into sexual life: The association with gender and birth cohort
By Valentina Tocchioni, Marcantonio Caltabiano, Silvia Meggiolaro
References
Aassve, A., Billari, F.C., and Piccarreta, R. (2007). Strings of adulthood: A sequence analysis of young British women’s work-family trajectories. European Journal of Population 23(3): 369–388.
Abbott, A. (1995). Sequence analysis: New methods for old ideas. Annual Review of Sociology 21(1): 93–113.
Bajos, N., Bozon, M., Beltzer, N., Laborde, C., Andro, A., Ferrand, M., Goulet, V., Laporte, A., Le Van, C., Leridon, H., Levinson, S., Razafindratsima, N., Toulemon, L., Warszawski, J., and Wellings, K. (2010). Changes in sexual behaviours: from secular trends to public health policies. AIDS 24(8): 1185–1191.
Barbagli, M., Castiglioni, M., and Dalla Zuanna, G. (2004). Fare famiglia in Italia. Un secolo di cambiamenti. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Barbagli, M., Dalla Zuanna, G., and Garelli, F. (2010). La sessualità degli italiani. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Billari, F.C. and Ongaro, F. (2004). First stages in partnership history and in sexual experiences. In: Dalla Zuanna, G. and Crisafulli, C. (eds.). Sexual behaviour of Italian students. Messina: Dipartimento Statistico, Università di Messina: 107–124.
Boislard, M.A., Bongardt, D., and Blais, M. (2016). Sexuality (and lack thereof) in adolescence and early adulthood: A review of the literature. Behavioral Sciences 6(1): 8.
Boislard, M.A. and Poulin, F. (2011). Individual, familial, friends-related and contextual predictors of early sexual intercourse. Journal of Adolescence 34(2): 289–300.
Bongaarts, J., Mensch, B.S., and Blanc, A.K. (2017). Trends in the age at reproductive transitions in the developing world: The role of education. Population Studies 71(2): 139–154.
Bozon, M. (2003). At what age do women and men have their first sexual intercourse? World comparisons and recent trends. Population and Societies 391(4): 8.
Bozon, M. and Kontula, O. (2014). Sexual initiation and gender in Europe: A cross-cultural analysis of trends in the twentieth century. In: Hubert, M., Bajos, N., and Sandfort, T. (eds.). Sexual behaviour and HIV/AIDS in Europe: Comparisons of national surveys. London: Routledge: 37–67.
Brückner, H. and Mayer, K.U. (2005). De-standardization of the life course: What it might mean? And if it means anything, whether it actually took place? Advances in Life Course Research 9: 27–53.
Caltabiano, M. (2007). Interdependent event history for the study of the determinants of the onset of affective and sexual life. In: Billari, F.C., Caltabiano, M., and Dalla Zuanna, G. (eds.). Sexual and affective behaviour of students: An international research. Padova: Cleup Editrice: 273–294.
Caltabiano, M. (2013). Le trasformazioni della vita sessuale. In: AISP – Associazione Italiana per gli Studi di Popolazione. Rapporto sulla popolazione: sessualità e riproduzione nell’Italia contemporanea. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Caltabiano, M., Castiglioni, M., and De Rose, A. (2020). Changes in the sexual behaviour of young people: Introduction. Genus 76(1): 1–10.
Caltabiano, M., Dalla Zuanna, G., and Rosina, A. (2006). Interdependence between sexual debut and church attendance in Italy. Demographic Research 14(19): 453–484.
Carpenter, L. (2015). Studying sexualities from a life course perspective. In: DeLamater, J. and Plante, R.F. (eds.). Handbook of the sociology of sexualities. Cham: Springer.
Castiglioni, M. (2004). First sexual intercourse and contraceptive use in Italy. In: Dalla Zuanna, G. and Crisafulli, C. (eds.). Sexual behaviour of Italian students. Messina: Dipartimento Statistico, Università di Messina: 19–39.
Collins, W.A., Welsh, D.P., and Furman, W. (2009). Adolescent romantic relationships. Annual Review of Psychology 60: 631–652.
Connolly, J.A. and McIsaac, C. (2009). Romantic relationships in adolescence. In: Lerner, R.M. and Steinberg, L. (eds.). Handbook of adolescent psychology: Contextual influences on adolescent development. New York: John Wiley and Sons: 104–151.
Crawford, M. and Popp, D. (2003). Sexual double standards: A review and methodological critique of two decades of research. Journal of Sex Research 40: 13–26.
Dalenber, W.G., Timmerman, M.C., and Geert, P.L.C. (2018). Dutch adolescents’ everyday expressions of sexual behaviour trajectories over a 2-Year period: A mixed-methods study. Archives of Sexual Behaviour 47(6): 1811–1823.
Dalla Zuanna, G., Caltabiano, M., Minello, A., and Vignoli, D. (2019). Catching up! The sexual opinions and behaviour of Italian students (2000–2017). Firenze: Università di Firenze, DiSIA Working Paper Series 2019/02.
Dalla Zuanna, G. and Crisafulli, C. (2004). Sexual behaviour of Italian students. Messina: Dipartimento Statistico, Università di Messina.
Dalla Zuanna, G. and Mencarini, L. (2004). The gender sex ballet: Dynamics of sexual behaviour within young Italian couples. In: Dalla Zuanna, G. and Crisafulli, C. (eds.). Sexual behaviour of Italian students. Messina: Dipartimento Statistico, Università di Messina: 321–340.
De Graaf, H. and Rademakers, J. (2006). Sexual development of prepubertal children. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality 18(1): 1–21.
De Graaf, H., Vanwesenbeeck, I., Meijer, S., Woertman, L., and Meeus, W. (2009). Sexual trajectories during adolescence: Relation to demographic characteristics and sexual risk. Archives of Sexual Behavior 38: 276–282.
Devillanova, C., Raitano, M., and Struffolino, E. (2019). Longitudinal employment trajectories and health in middle life. Demographic Research 40(47): 1375–1412.
Elder, G.H. (1988). The life course as developmental theory. Child Development 69: 1–12.
Ethier, K.H., Kann, L., and McManus, T. (2018). Sexual intercourse among high school students – 29 states and United States overall, 2005–2015. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 66(51–52): 1393–1397.
Fabris, G. and Davis, R. (1978). Il mito del sesso. Milano: Mondadori.
Forste, R. and Haas, D.W. (2002). The transition of adolescent males to first sexual intercourse: Anticipated or delayed? Perspective on Sexual and Reproductive Health 34: 184–190.
Furman, W. and Shaffer, L. (2003). The role of romantic relationships in adolescent development. In: Florsheim, P. (ed.). Adolescent romantic relations and sexual behavior: Theory, research, and practical implications. Mahwah: Erlbaum: 3–22.
Gabadinho, A., Ritschard, G., Müller, N.S., and Studer, M. (2011). Analyzing and visualizing state sequences in R with TraMineR. Journal of Statistical Software 40(4): 1–37.
Halpern, C.T., Joyner, K., Udry, R., and Suchindran, C. (2000). Smart teens don’t have sex (or kiss much either. Journal of Adolescent Health 26(3): 213–225.
Hansen, B.T., Kjær, S.K., Arnheim-Dahlström, L., Liaw, L.-L., Juul, K.E., Thomsen, L. T., Frederiksen, K., Elfström, K.M., Munk, C., and Nygård, M. (2020). Age at first intercourse, number of partners and sexually transmitted infection prevalence among Danish, Norwegian and Swedish women: Estimates and trends from nationally representative cross‐sectional surveys of more than 100 000 women. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 99(2): 175–185.
Haydon, A.A., Herring, A.H., Halpern, Prinstein, M.J., and Halpern, C.T. (2012). Beyond age at first sex: Patterns of emerging sexual behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Health 50(5): 456–463.
Inchley, J., Currie, D., Budisavljevic, S., Torsheim, T., Jåstad, A., Cosma, A., Kelly, C., Arnarsson, Á.M., and Samdal, O. (2020). Spotlight on adolescent health and well-being. Findings from the 2017/2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey in Europe and Canada. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, International report. Volume 2. Key data.
Inchley, J., Currie, D., Young, T., Samdal, O., Torsheim, T., Augustson, L., Mathison, F., Aleman-Diaz, A., Molcho, M., Weber, M., and Barnekow, V. (2016). Growing up unequal: Gender and socioeconomic differences in young people’s health and well-being. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, Health behavior in school-aged children (HBSC study): International report from the 2013/2014 survey.
Joyner, K. and Campa, M. (2006). How do adolescent relationships influence the quality of romantic and sexual relationships in young adulthood? In: Crouter, A.C. and Booth, A. (eds.). Romance and sex in adolescence and emerging adulthood: Risks and opportunities. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: 93–101.
Kahn, N.F. and Halpern, C.T. (2018). Associations between patterns of sexual initiation, sexual partnering, and sexual health outcomes from adolescence to early adulthood. Archives of Sexual Behavior 47(6): 1791–1810.
Lewis, R., Marston, C., and Wellings, K. (2013). Bases, stages and ‘working your way up’: Young people’s talk about non-coital practices and ‘normal’ sexual trajectories. Sociological Research Online 18(1): 233–241.
Lewis, R., Tanton, C., Mercer, C.H., Mitchell, K.R., Palmer, M., Macdowall, W., and Wellings, K. (2017). Heterosexual practices among young people in Britain: Evidence from three national surveys of sexual attitudes and lifestyles. Journal of Adolescent Health 61(6): 694–702.
Manlove, J., Wildsmith, E., Ikramullah, E., Terry-Humen, E., and Schelar, E. (2012). Family environments and the relationship context of first adolescent sex: Correlates of first sex in a casual versus steady relationship. Social Science Research 41: 861–875.
Martinez, G., Copen, C.E., and Abma, J.C. (2011). Teenagers in the United States: Sexual activity, contraceptive use, and childbearing, 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth. Data from the National Survey of Family Growth. Washington: National Center for Health Statistics, Vital and Health Statistics 23(31).
Minello, A., Caltabiano, M., Dalla Zuanna, G., and Vignoli, D. (2020). Catching up! The sexual behaviour and opinions of Italian students (2000–2017). Genus 76: 16.
Moilanen, K.L., Crockett, L.J., Raffaelli, M., and Jones, B.L. (2010). Trajectories of sexual risk from middle adolescence to early adulthood. Journal of Sex Research 20: 114–139.
O’Sullivan, L.F., Cheng, M.M., Harris, K.M., and Brooks‐Gunn, J. (2007). I wanna hold your hand: The progression of social, romantic and sexual events in adolescent relationships. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 39(2): 100–107.
Olesen, T.B., Jensen, K.E., Nygård, M., Tryggvadottir, L., Sparén, P., Hansen, B.T., Liaw, K.L., and Kjær, S.K. (2012). Young age at first intercourse and risk-taking behaviours. A study of nearly 65 000 women in four Nordic countries. European Journal of Public Health 22(2): 220–224.
Olmstead, S.B. (2020). A decade review of sex and partnering in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family 82: 769–795.
Panatto, D., Amicizia, D., Trucchi, C., Casabona, F., Lai, P.L., Bonanni, P., Boccalini, S., Bechini, A., Tiscione, E., Zotti, C.M., Coppola, R.C., Masia, G., Meloni, A., Castiglia, P., Piana, A., and Gasparini, R. (2012). Sexual behaviour and risk factors for the acquisition of human papillomavirus infections in young people in Italy: Suggestions for future vaccination policies. BMC Public Health 12: 623.
Parkes, A., Henderson, M., Wight, D., and Nixon, C. (2011). Is parenting associated with teenagers’ early sexual risk-taking, autonomy and relationship with sexual partners? Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 43(1): 30–40.
Poscia, A., La Milia, D.I., Lohmeyer, F., Teleman, A.A., Waure, C., and Ricciardi, W. (2015). Sexual behaviours and preconception health in Italian university students. Annali dell’Istituto Superiore di Sanità 51(2): 116–120.
Raab, M. and Struffolino, E. (2020). The heterogeneity of partnership trajectories to childlessness in Germany. European Journal of Population 36(1): 53–70.
Rauer, A.J., Pettit, G.S., Lansford, J.E., Bates, J.E., and Dodge, K.A. (2013). Romantic relationship patterns in young adulthood and their developmental antecedents. Developmental Psychology 49(11): 2159–2171.
Reese, B.M., Choukas‐Bradley, S., Herring, A.H., and Halpern, C.T. (2014). Correlates of adolescent and young adult sexual initiation patterns. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 46(4): 211–221.
Regan, P.C., Durvasula, R., Howell, L., Ureño, O., and Rea, M. (2004). Gender, ethnicity, and the developmental timing of first sexual and romantic experiences. Social Behavior and Personality 32(7): 667–676.
Roche, J.P. and Ramsbey, T.W. (1993). Premarital sexuality: A five-year follow-up study of attitudes and behavior by dating stage. Adolescence 28: 67–80.
Smith, E.A. and Udry, J.R. (1985). Coital and non-coital sexual behaviors of white and black adolescents. American Journal of Public Health 75(10): 1200–1203.
Studer, M. (2013). WeightedCluster Library Manual: A practical guide to creating typologies of trajectories in the social sciences with R. Geneva: University of Geneva , LIVES Working Papers.
Studer, M. and Ritschard, G. (2016). What matters in differences between life trajectories: A comparative review of sequence dissimilarity measures. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society 179(2): 481–511 (Series A (Statistics in Society).
Thornton, A. (1990). The courtship process and adolescent sexuality. Journal of Family Issues 11: 239–273.
Tolman, D.L. and McClelland, S.I. (2011). Normative sexuality development in adolescence: A decade in review, 2000–2009. Journal of Research on Adolescence 21: 242–255.
Twenge, J.M., Sherman, R.A., and Wells, B.E. (2017). Sexual inactivity during young adulthood is more common among U.S. Millennials and iGen: Age, period, and cohort effects on having no sexual partners after age 18. Archives of Sexual Behavior 46: 433–440.
van de Bongardt, D., Graaf, H., Reitz, E., and Dekovi, M. (2014). Parents as moderators of longitudinal associations between sexual peer norms and Dutch adolescents’ sexual initiation and intention. Journal of Adolescent Health 55: 388–393.
van de Bongardt, D., Yu, R., Deković, M., and Meeus, W.H.J. (2015). Romantic relationships and sexuality in adolescence and young adulthood: The role of parents, peers, and partners. European Journal of Developmental Psychology 12(5): 497–515.
Van Oss Marín, B., Kirby, D.B., Hudes, E.S., Coyle, K.K., and Gómez, C.A. (2006). Boyfriends, girlfriends and teenagers’ risk of sexual involvement. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 38: 76–83.
Vasilenko, S.A., Kugler, K.C., Butera, N.M., and Lanza, S.T. (2015). Patterns of adolescent sexual behavior predicting young adult sexually transmitted infections: A latent class analysis approach. Archives of Sexual Behavior 44: 705–715.
Wesche, R., Lefkowitz, E.S., and Vasilenko, S.A. (2017). Latent classes of sexual behaviors: Prevalence, predictors, and consequences. Sexuality Research and Social Policy 14: 100–111.
White, C.N. and Warner, L.A. (2015). Influence of family and school-level factors on age of sexual initiation. Journal of Adolescent Health 56: 231–237.
Widmer, E.D. and Ritschard, G. (2009). The de-standardization of the life course: Are men and women equal? Advances in Life Course Research 14(1–2): 28–39.
Williams, T., Connolly, J., and Cribbie, R. (2008). Light and heavy heterosexual activities of young canadian adolescents: Normative patterns and differential predictors. Journal of Research on Adolescence 18(1): 145–172.
Zimmer-Gembeck, M.J., Siebenbruner, J., and Collins, W.A. (2004). A prospective study of intraindividual and peer influences on adolescents’ heterosexual romantic and sexual behavior. Archives of Sexual Behavior 33: 381–394.