Sexual debut and college entrance among South Korean adolescents

Abstract

Introduction: For the past few decades, numerous theoretical perspectives have predicted a negative association between adolescent sexual debut and the probability of college entrance. The present article extends the literature by using nationally representative longitudinal data from South Korea to assess these perspectives. Methods: Drawing on longitudinal data from South Korea, this article examined the impact of becoming sexually active between 8th and 12th grades on the probability of college entrance. We controlled for a wide array of confounding variables by using logit models that account for longitudinal attrition and school-based sampling design. Results: Analytical results showed that the initiation of sexual intercourse during adolescence predicted a statistically signiicant decrease in the probability of college entrance for both boys and girls. Gender-speciic analyses suggested that, on average, sexual debut in adolescence was associated with a decrease of 10.3 percentage points in the probability of college entrance for boys and a decrease of 14.7 percentage points for girls. Conclusions: These indings strongly support the theoretical perspectives of age norm theory and sexual double standards in South Korea, where strictly conservative attitudes toward sexuality and sexual behaviors are dominant.

Making Choices in Discourse: New Alternative Masculinities Opposing the “Warrior’s Rest”

“…The women’s movement and other progressive social movements have traditionally been committed to foster gender equality by condemning, among other issues, gender inequalities regarding sexual behavior and interpersonal relationships by advocating sexual freedom and equality. Therefore, double standards about social attitudes and expectations toward the sexual behavior of men and women and its consequences in terms of gender differences have been widely examined and challenged ( Kreager and Staff, 2009 ; Lyons et al, 2011 ; Dunn et al, 2014 ; Zaikman and Marks, 2014 ; Rios-González et al, 2018 ; Armstrong et al, 2020 ; Duque et al, 2020 ; Kim, 2020 ; Álvarez-Muelas et al, 2021 ). Feminist theories ( Beauvoir, 1949 ; Greer, 1970 ) have condemned the sexist myth of the warrior’s rest that positions women as passive sexual objects, subject to their partners’ dominance and dependence.…”

Association of Late Marriage and Low Childbirth with Cervical Cancer Screening among Korean Women: Results from a Nationwide Survey

“…The strength of our study is that, to the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to elucidate the influence of marriage on adherence to cervical cancer screening recommendations among young adult women through a representative sample in Korea. More noteworthy, as mentioned earlier, Korean young women are getting married later [ 7 ], and their first sexual experiences are also happening at a younger age [ 4 ], revealing that they may be more vulnerable to cervical cancer. Based on these findings, national policymakers will be able to select groups vulnerable to cervical cancer and come up with specific strategies to increase their screening rates.…”

“…In Korea, the incidence of cervical cancer among women aged 15–34 years was ranked third highest [ 2 ]. Among young adult women in Korea, changes in the culture around sexual behavior have been taking place rapidly over the past decade [ 3 , 4 ]. Sexual activity is now beginning earlier and becoming more frequent, increasing the chance of exposure to cervical cancer risk factors [ 4 ].…”

“…Among young adult women in Korea, changes in the culture around sexual behavior have been taking place rapidly over the past decade [ 3 , 4 ]. Sexual activity is now beginning earlier and becoming more frequent, increasing the chance of exposure to cervical cancer risk factors [ 4 ]. In response to these changes, the National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP) for cervical cancer in Korea, which provides a free conventional Papanicolaou smear (Pap smear) once every two years to women aged ≥30 years since 2002, has extended testing to women who are aged ≥20 years since 2016 [ 5 ].…”

Sexual experiences among multicultural adolescents in Korea: evidence from the Korean Youth’s Risk Behavior Survey

“…Against this backdrop, sexual desire typically grows stronger during adolescence, as does the importance of relationships with the opposite sex, but many adolescents do not have adequate sexual consciousness or attitudes: evidence from past literature suggests that, on average, early sexual experience during adolescence can be directly and indirectly associated with numerous negative outcomes, such as substance use ( Brooks-Gunn and Furstenberg, 1989 ; Lee et al, 2018 ), lower educational aspirations ( National Research Council, 1987 ; Kim, 2020 ), and risky health behaviors ( Mota et al, 2010 ). Moreover, earlier sexual debut would increase the likelihood of unintended pregnancy and childbearing, which might hamper socioeconomic achievement over the life course ( Kim, 2014 ).…”