Some boys in US having sex before age of 13

American parents might want to start having “the talk” with their children earlier than they think, as new research claims that boys are having sex before the age of 13 in some parts of the US.

The study, which was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, found that between 3.6 per cent and 7.6 per cent of boys across the US had lost their virginities by the time they’d reached the age of 13.

Researchers used data from two national surveys to reach this conclusion: the school-based Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey, which has data on 19,916 male high school students, and the household-based National Survey of Family Growth, which has a sample size of 7,739 of men aged 15 to 24.

In both surveys, the volunteers were asked if they’d had sexual intercourse with a woman before the age of 13.

The study found that the proportion of men who’d reported having had sex before the age of 13 varied significantly across the US. At five per cent, the figure was at its lowest in San Francisco but rose to 25 per cent for those living in Memphis, Tennessee.

The study’s authors also looked at how race and ethnicity impacted whether or not the participants had been sexually active at a younger age and found that out of those analysed, black males were most likely to have sex before 13. This was followed by Hispanic males.

White males were 79 per cent less likely to have sex before 13 when compared to black males, the study found, whereas Hispanic males were 73 per cent less likely.

As for how participants felt about the sexual experiences that happened before they'd turned 13, 55 per cent of the men involved said they “really wanted it to happen” at the time whereas 37 per cent reported having “mixed feelings” and eight per cent said they didn't want it to happen.

“Adolescent males’ attitudes and value about their sexuality and masculinity are influenced by the social context of their community,” commented lead study author Laura Lindberg, a researcher at the Guttmacher Institute in New York City.

“Our findings reflect that where you live exposes you to different social norms about manhood,” she told Reuters. “The variation across settings means that programs for young people’s development and health need to be tailored and responsive to the communities they are in.”

There were limitations to the study in that it only focused on heterosexual intercourse, which is not necessarily the type of sexual encounter all young people have, and participants weren't required to state the age of their sexual partner.

Despite this, the study concludes that its findings are enough to suggest that parents may want to start educating their children about safe sex and relationships at an earlier age than previously thought.

“From naming body parts to explaining where babies come from, parents should be talking early and often with their children in an honest way about sex,” Lindberg added. “Parents and educators can’t wait until a high school class to cover key topics when many young males start having sex before this.”

In the UK, the legal age for someone to consent to sex is 16. In the US, the legal age of consent varies across states from 16 to 18.