{"title":"Longitudinal Links Between Sexual Debut and Self-Esteem Development in German Adolescents and Young Adults","authors":"Claudia Schmiedeberg, Tita Gonzalez Avilés","doi":"10.1007/s10508-025-03128-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>First sexual experiences represent a central aspect of adolescents’ lives and have been suggested to affect their personal development in various ways. However, whether sexual debut plays a role in the development of self-esteem is yet unknown. The present study investigated whether first sexual intercourse was associated with subsequent changes in self-esteem. Data from a large, nationwide randomly sampled longitudinal study of adolescents and emerging adults in Germany (<i>N</i> = 1678, 53% female) of whom 39% experienced sexual debut during the study period were used. Fixed-effects regression models were applied to estimate the effect of sexual debut on self-esteem. Findings indicated a significant positive effect of sexual debut on subsequent self-esteem. This effect was not moderated by age at sexual debut or gender. Together, the results emphasize the developmental significance of sexual experiences for personal growth in adolescents and emerging adults.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8327,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Sexual Behavior","volume":"54 5","pages":"1709 - 1716"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archives of Sexual Behavior","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-025-03128-z","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
First sexual experiences represent a central aspect of adolescents’ lives and have been suggested to affect their personal development in various ways. However, whether sexual debut plays a role in the development of self-esteem is yet unknown. The present study investigated whether first sexual intercourse was associated with subsequent changes in self-esteem. Data from a large, nationwide randomly sampled longitudinal study of adolescents and emerging adults in Germany (N = 1678, 53% female) of whom 39% experienced sexual debut during the study period were used. Fixed-effects regression models were applied to estimate the effect of sexual debut on self-esteem. Findings indicated a significant positive effect of sexual debut on subsequent self-esteem. This effect was not moderated by age at sexual debut or gender. Together, the results emphasize the developmental significance of sexual experiences for personal growth in adolescents and emerging adults.
期刊介绍：
The official publication of the International Academy of Sex Research, the journal is dedicated to the dissemination of information in the field of sexual science, broadly defined. Contributions consist of empirical research (both quantitative and qualitative), theoretical reviews and essays, clinical case reports, letters to the editor, and book reviews.
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