02 - 03 Wendy D . Manning Monica A . Longmore Peggy C . Giordano

The majority of teens are having sex, however, we know little about the patterns of nonromantic sexual activity and the factors associated with non-romantic sexual experiences. In fact, prior work indicates that contraceptive use depends on the relationship context of sexual intercourse. Yet, research on the characteristics of teens who engage in non-romantic sex is limited. We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to prospectively analyze adolescents’ reports of non-romantic sexual intercourse, and whether key protective and risk factors as well as normative orientations distinguish the context within which sexual activity occurs. We find that the majority of sexually active teens have had some sexual experience outside of a romantic relationship. We conclude that teenagers' sexual experiences are not consistent or static over time, because two-thirds of sexually active teenagers have had sex in both romantic and non-romantic contexts. Our multivariate analyses indicate that traditional risk/protective factors and the normative orientations of mothers and teens themselves have significant effects on teenage non-romantic sexual activity. We argue that it is important to consider the full repertoire of adolescents’ experiences by examining the types of sexual partners over time.