Facts and Statistics: Sexual Health and Canadian Youth
Age at First Intercourse
Recent national data on age at first intercourse comes from the 2003 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Rotermann (2005) presented selected sexual health data from a sub-sample of the CCHS (N=18,084) that was representative of the Canadian household population in 2003.
For this sample, Rotermann (2005) reported that the average age of first intercourse was 16.5 years for both males and females.
The CCHS, as well as other Canadian surveys that have measured age of first intercourse, clearly indicates that at least two thirds of Canadian youth have their first experience with sexual intercourse during the teenage years.
2003 Canadian Community Health Survey: Average Age of Respondents the "First Time" They Had Sexual Intercourse (N=18,084)
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Average/mean response | 16.5 | 16.5 |
Source: Rotermann (2005). Sex, condoms and STDs among young people. Health Reports, 16(3), 39-45.
When short, medium or longer term trends are examined, the available data suggest that the average age of first sexual intercourse has consistently but gradually declined.
For example, data collected from the 2000-2001 cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey indicated that for those aged 15 to 24 at the time of the survey the average age of first intercourse was 16.8 years.
This compares to 17.9 years for those aged 25 to 34, 18.7 years for those aged 35 to 44, and 19.2 for those aged 45 to 59 (Hansen, Mann, McMahon, & Wong, 2004).
(See Maticka-Tyndale, 2001 for a presentation of age cohort data and discussion of trends in age of first intercourse indicated in the 1996 National Population Health Survey)
The Canada, Youth and AIDS Study (King et al., 1988) conducted in 1988 and the Canadian Youth, Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Study (Boyce et al., 2003) conducted in 2002 provide two easily comparable data sets that provide some indication of the trend in the percentages of Canadian youth at different age/grade levels who have experienced sexual intercourse one or more times.
Both studies asked very similar questions about sexual behaviour and included large samples of Grade 9 (approximately age 14) and Grade 11 (approximately age 16) Canadian school students.
A comparison of the data from these two studies suggests that between 1988 and 2002 the percentage of Canadian youth who had experienced sexual intercourse did not increase, contrary to the common assumption that recent cohorts of teens are more likely to have had intercourse than cohorts of teens from the past.
Percentages of Grade 9 and Grade 11 School Students Reporting That They Have Had Sexual Intercourse At Least Once, 1988, 2002
| Male-1988 | Male-2002 | Female-1988 | Female-2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 31% | 23% | 21% | 19% |
| Grade 11 | 49% | 40% | 46% | 46% |
Source: Boyce et al., (2003). Canadian Youth, Sexual Health and HIV/AIDS Study: Factors Influencing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviours.
