New Research Suggests Waiting to Lose Virginity Can be Problematic

A new study featured in the January 2008 issue of the American Journal of Public Health suggests that wait too long to lose one's virginity can be problematic, according to a report by ABC News.

Researchers at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute's HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies say that men who wait until ages 21 to 23 tend to be more likely to experience sexual dysfunction problems later.

More specifically, men who lose their virginity in their 20s seemed to have more of a tendency to experience sexual problems such as difficulty getting aroused and reaching orgasm. Similar tendencies were also present in men who had lost their virginities comparably early.

Researchers who conducted the study were clear to say that there is not enough evidence to claim that waiting to have sex leads to sexual dysfunction. Rather, there may simply be factors common to both the delay of sex and the onset of dysfunction.

For example, it could be that men with sexual problems simply avoid sexual interaction early in life. The study also calls to attention the many psychological factors that are at play in both situations.

The study, which was based on the 1996 National Sexual Health Survey conducted by the Center of AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California, also found that men and women who lose their virginity in their early teens had problems. This group was more likely to choose risky sexual partners, to contract sexually transmitted infection, and to have sex while using drugs and/or alcohol.

Eli Coleman, academic chair in sexual health at the University of Minnesota Medical School Program in Human Sexuality, said about all the sexual issues discussed, "There are probably both biological and psychological factors at play - which cannot be elucidated from this study - but suggests that further research needs to be conducted to explore those factors."