Background to the Research

• This article is based on the results of the first major survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles of young people, aged 14-25 years, in NI.
• The survey was conducted by the University of Ulster in conjunction with the Family Planning Association Northern Ireland from 2000 to 2002. This article provides the findings from the survey in relation to first sexual intercourse.
  

Research Approach

• A mixed methods approach was used. A large-scale survey based on a quota sampling technique was conducted.
• 1,013 self-administered questionnaires were returned.
• 71 focus group discussions took place in a variety of settings, such as schools, youth projects and training organisations.
• 15 one-to-one in-depth interviews were also conducted.
  

Main Findings

• 53.3% of respondents had experienced sexual intercourse, 36.7% of all respondents had intercourse before age 17, which is the legal age of sexual consent in NI. First intercourse was most likely to occur at 15 or 16 years.
• Among sexually active respondents, 50.7% had sex before age 16.
• Of all young people who took part in the survey, 27.4% had sex before age 16. The average age of the first sexual partner was 17.3 years.
• Young men reported that they had experienced their first sexual intercourse on average one year earlier than young women (14.9 years and 15.9 years respectively).
• Only 37.6% of Catholics said they had sex before 16, compared to 62.5% of Protestants, 58.7% of atheists, and 56.4% of those from other religions.
• Catholic respondents were more likely to say they planned their first sexual encounter i.e. were less likely to have sex on the spur of the moment.
• Catholics and young people with no religious affiliation were slightly more likely than Protestants to be in stable relationships when they first had sex.
• Respondents were asked to judge in retrospect if the timing of their first sex had been right. 57.6% said that their first sexual intercourse happened at the right time and just under a third (31.6%) said they had had first sex too early.
• Only 15.7% of respondents said that they planned their first sexual encounter together with their partner. Most respondents said they had sex 'on the spur of the moment'.
• 68.3% of respondents said they had used a condom when they first had sexual intercourse, while just over one-third (which included many of the same respondents who had used a condom) said they had used other contraceptives. Almost half - 48% - of young people who had sex the first time they met their partner did not use any contraception.
• 10% of all male respondents and 13.7% of all female respondents said they were sexually attracted to people of the same sex at least once. 11.7% of the sexually active males and 3.7% of the sexually active females said they had a same sex partner on at least one occasion.