The present study examined if variables within the self system and/or the familial system signaled risk for becoming sexually active at age 16 or younger. The mechanisms that influence early sexual debut are not yet well understood, and our study provided an overview of key factors that are correlated with, and in some cases may influence, this behavior. Of note, the results of the study should be interpreted with consideration that COGA did not collect information on other explanatory variables that would be needed for comprehensive analyses of the determinants of adolescent risky sexual behavior.
