Examining linkages between family influences, impulsivity and early sexual initiation: Longitudinal evidence from a community-based sample of urban adolescents

The preponderance of risk-taking during adolescence, including early sexual initiation, is thought to be a manifestation of an underlying impulsive tendency of teenagers to seek novel and exciting experiences (Arnett, 1992), without evaluating the long-term consequences (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1977). Recent work by Moffitt et al. (2011) suggests that poor self-control, evidenced as early as age three, is linked to adverse health outcomes that continue into adulthood. Research suggests however that lack of self-control, or impulsivity, has multiple manifestations that are not highly correlated. The present analysis was conducted to understand the influence of impulsivity on early sexual initiation using two waves of data [N=355; Mean age (baseline)=13 yrs] from a longitudinal study of a community-based sample of urban adolescents. Structural equation modeling procedures were employed to assess the unique influence of three separate dimensions of impulsivity: acting-without-thinking (AWT), sensation-seeking (SS), and impatience (IMPT) in relation to early sexual debut at one-year follow-up. Fifteen percent of the sample reported having initiated vaginal intercourse at follow-up, compared to 8% at baseline. AWT (β=1.1, p<.05) and IMPT (β=-.26, p<.01), but not SS, were found to be significantly associated with sexual debut, even after accounting for familial (parental monitoring, involvement, and parent-adolescent relationship quality) and socio-demographic variables [TLI=0.93; RMSEA =.06]. Supplemental analyses revealed that these dimensions of impulsivity were associated with lower working memory scores [β(AWT)=-.20, p<.05; β(IMPT)=.25, p<.01), suggesting that early interventions to improve working memory (Klingberg et al., 2005) may help adolescents to avoid the risks attendant upon early sexual initiation.