Australian research has revealed that many girls regret losing their virginity at an early age.
A study carried out by researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) has found that teenage girls who lose their virginity when they are not ready, often at an earlier age, are more likely to feel disappointment and regret the experience.
The researchers from UWA's School of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, interviewed 68 teenage girls aged 14 to 19, with the aim of better understanding the factors that influence sexual behaviour, including the first sexual experience in teenage girls.
The girls Dr.awn from sexual and reproductive health clinics throughout the Perth metropolitan area, including antenatal and postnatal services, abortion services and sexual health clinics spoke at length about their attitudes and experiences.
The median age of the girls was 17, while the age of their first experience of intercourse ranged from 11 to 17 years, with a median age of 14.
The study, "Perceptions and experiences of first sexual intercourse in Australian adolescent females" was led by Dr. Rachel Skinner, a paediatrician and specialist in adolescent health who is now based at the University of Sydney, who says the survey revealed that the degree of personal control over the situation that led to intercourse determined how teenagers felt about this experience.
Dr. Skinner says those who were 'ready' were more likely to have delayed intercourse until they were comfortable with both when and with whom this occurred but they also found that idealistic perceptions about sex and relationships, peer pressure, coercion from sexual partners and being Dr.unk were common reasons for premature and unwanted first experience of sexual intercourse.
Dr. Skinner says the research is unusual and significant because they were able to give very young and older teenagers a confidential space in which to voice their views and experiences about a topic which is generally considered taboo in this age group.