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Academic Goals, Achievement, And Age At First Sexual Intercourse: Reciprocal Influences, Paul L. Schvaneveldt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the reciprocal relationship between the age of first sexual intercourse and academic goals and achievement. It was hypothesized that lower educational goals and achievement were likely to be associated with an adolescent who initiated sexual intercourse at a younger age than those with higher educational goals and achievement. It was also hypothesized that initiating sexual activity early would be associated with a decrease in subsequent academic achievement and goals. Possible explanations are that the costs of engaging in sexual intercourse (pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases) may deter adolescents from initiating intercourse. Weak attachment to parents and future …