Mummy's girls wait longer for sex

Teenage girls who have close relationships with their mothers wait longer to have sex for the first time, US researchers reported today.

Their findings also indicate girls are less likely to have sex when their mothers strongly disapprove, suggesting that mothers matter more than they might sometimes believe.

"We need to be more tuned in to what’s happening in our children’s lives," said the study’s author, Dr Robert Blum, director of the University of Minnesota’s Centre for Adolescent Health and Development.

"Otherwise, how can we give them clear, effective messages about how to deal with the choices they will inevitably face?"

The same impact was not found for mothers and sons, and researchers concluded that other influences, such as friends, simply may be stronger for boys.

Talking about birth control did not appear to have any effect on teenagers sexual behaviour.

The study is based on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a massive federal investigation of teenage behaviour. This research examined interviews with 2,006 teenagers aged between 14 and 15 who said they were virgins.

The same teens were interviewed a year later, and 10.8% of the boys and 15.8% of the girls had had sex by the second interview.

Researchers examined extensive interviews with their mothers (fathers were not interviewed) to try to determine what made the difference between those who became sexually active and those who stayed virgins.

They found little to explain why some boys began having sex and others didn’t. But they said several factors made a difference for girls.

Specifically, the study released Wednesday found that mothers whose daughters were still virgins shared several qualities:

:: They strongly disapproved of their daughters having sex.

:: They were satisfied with their relationship with their daughters.

:: They frequently talked with the parents of their daughters’ friends.

:: These mothers also were more likely to have a college degree.

"Parents say they talk until they’re blue in the face and their kids still don’t listen," Blum said. "Kids will pay attention to their parents’ values on sex. But talk alone does not get the message through."

Other factors made no difference in teen sex, including how religious the mothers were, how often they talked about sex, how uncomfortable they were talking about sex and whether they recommended that their daughters use a specific kind of birth control.

The study was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.