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Higher Parental Socioeconomic Status Accelerates Sexual Debut in Italy

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Abstract

The onset of the transition to adulthood starts with first sexual experiences. In this paper we analyzed how Italian university students’ timing and type (protected or unprotected) of sexual debut are influenced by parental socioeconomic status. By applying event-history techniques to unique data from the two releases of the Sexual and Emotional Life of Youths survey (2000 and 2017), we found a clear accelerating effect of higher parental SES on the sexual debut of their children. These results hold controlling for Second Demographic Transition-related characteristics of the family of origin. Our results contradict the well-established, North American- and Anglo-Saxon-driven finding that children with higher parental SES postpone their sexual debut. We argue and prove that the overall positive effect of parental education on children’s risk of sexual debut in Italy is due to the limited diffusion of unprotected sexual relations during adolescence and young adulthood compared to North American and other Anglo-Saxon settings.

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  • Raffaele Guetto & Daniele Vignoli & Alessio Lachi, 2020. "Higher Parental Socioeconomic Status Accelerates Sexual Debut in Italy," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2020_04, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    • Handle: RePEc:fir:econom:wp2020_04
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    File URL: https://labdisia.disia.unifi.it/wp_disia/2020/wp_disia_2020_04.pdf
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    1. Francesco C. Billari & Riccardo Borgoni, 2001. "Spatial profiles in the analysis of event histories: an application to first sexual intercourse in Italy," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2001-025, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
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    5. Jarl E. Mooyaart & Aart C. Liefbroer, 2016. "The Influence of Parental Education on Timing and Type of Union Formation: Changes Over the Life Course and Over Time in the Netherlands," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(4), pages 885-919, August.
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    8. Marcantonio Caltabiano & Gianpiero Dalla Zuanna & Alessandro Rosina, 2006. "Interdependence between sexual debut and church attendance in Italy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 14(19), pages 453-484.
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    1. Fausta Ongaro & Valentina Tocchioni, 2021. "Adding up risks: Sexual debut and substance use among Italian university students," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2021_14, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social origins; Parental SES; Sexuaity; Sexual debut; Second Demographic Transition; Italy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

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