From the Journals

This report describes a survey of the sexual behaviour of teenagers’ aged 14 years in Scotland. The questionnaire is part of an on going trial of sex education in Scotland. The participation rate was 94%, resulting in 7395 usable questionnaires. Eighteen percent (n = 661) of boys and 15.4% (n = 576) of girls reported heterosexual intercourse. Condom use was reported by 60.2% of respondents. More girls (19.8%) than boys (7%) reported that they were under pressure to have sex at first intercourse. Two fifths of all respondents said first intercourse ‘was about the right time’. Thirtytwo percent of girls and 27% of boys said it had happened too early, and 13% of girls and 5% of boys said it should not have happened at all. For boys, the only variable related to regret was the fact that they had exerted pressure. For girls’ reports of being pressurised, exerting pressure, not having planned the intercourse with their partners, and relatively high levels of parental monitoring were all significantly related to regret.