A study conducted by the University of Iowa concludes that early teens who become sexually active are more likely to divorce than those whose first sexual experience occurs later in life. This is particularly true where the early teens’ first sexual experience was not wanted or where they were ambivalent about it.

The statistics are dramatic. Thirty-one percent of sexually active teens divorce within five years after marriage and forty-seven percent within ten years after marriage.

This contrasts with fifteen percent and twenty-seven percent for women who abstain from sex until reaching adulthood.

The study also reports that the overwhelming majority of teens who become sexually active are ambivalent about it.

The study does not draw any clear cut conclusions as to the why behind its findings. It is possible that early teens who become sexually active are simply predisposed toward divorce, but it seems more likely that their sexual precocity fosters ideas and conduct that contribute toward divorce.

Read more in this University of Iowa press release: UI study examines link between teen sex and divorce rate.