Dina sent me this article from UK Daily Mail.
Excerpt:
A recent survey of teenage girls conducted by Glasgow University revealed that in Britain — which has the third highest number of sexually active 13 to 15-year-olds in the world (only Denmark and Iceland have more) — more than a third of young women regret their decision to have sex so early.
A worrying 38 per cent of teenage girls regretted losing their virginity, and a fifth said they felt pressured to do so.
[…]…becoming sexually active at an early age can have devastating lifelong consequences, according to clinical psychologist Dr Michael Mantell. ‘It’s a psychological disaster waiting to happen,’ he says. ‘It leads to empty relationships and low self-worth.
‘The experience creates worry, regret, self-recrimination, guilt, loss of self-respect, shaken trust, depression, stunted personal development, damaged relationships and relationship skills. It can also have a negative impact on marriage, should one ever take place.’
[…]‘It has become the norm in our culture to be embarrassed if you have not had sex, as if there is something wrong with you, but, in my view, young people should be discouraged from rushing into it.’
The prospects of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases loom large in underage sex. But psychological damage is just as real a threat, according to Dr Mantell.
‘Having sex carries a sense of “being adult” for teenagers,’ he says. ‘This leads to the notion they can do other things that adults do, which is why data suggests teenagers who begin having sex at a significantly earlier time in their lives than their peers are more likely to engage in delinquent behaviour.’
There are other worries too, says Dr Mantell. ‘Girls who become sexually active in their teens are more than three times as likely to be depressed as those who don’t.
‘A girl’s self-worth is often damaged and she can come to rely on external evaluations of herself — “If I looked better, he would have stayed longer,” or “If I gave better sex, he would have wanted more.”
‘She knows she’s been “used”, which affects her ability to express affection and appreciation, and will always leave her wondering if it’s only about sex, and not her own particular qualities.’
[…]Psychologist Dr Mantell says when a girl experiences sex early in life and free of commitment, she learns an erroneous message that sex means nothing. ‘Her experience is that nothing happened as a result of her having sex, which creates the belief that sex and commitment have nothing to do with each other.
‘Later this can be carried into marriage, where the girl may believe that sex is not an important part of marriage when, clearly, it is.’
Dr Mantell says there is a physiological issue here, too. ‘Oxytocin is a chemical released into the system with sexual behaviour and is often linked to pregnancy and breast-feeding. It bonds people, one to another. When a young woman has multiple partners, some studies suggest her level of oxytocin is diminished, which can have longer-lasting effects — such as leading to bonding difficulties in marriage.’
The article has multiple frightening examples of how specific women lost their virginity and then experienced negative outcomes. I really recommend that everyone click through to the story (I linked to the printable version of the story, so no ads) and then read the cases of Kristen and Kimberley.
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- Can recreational sex turn a selfish, irresponsible man into a marriage-minded provider?
- New study finds that cohabitation damages children
- New peer-reviewed paper highlights the benefits of pre-marital chastity/abstinence
- Does being a virgin before marriage affect marital stability?
- Tactics and talking points for defending traditional marriage
- How important are biological fathers for healthy child development?
- What causes women to become single mothers, and how are children affected?
- New Scientist article shows why fathers are necessary for children’s well-being
- New study finds that women choose mates based on appearance
- Men should prefer women who allow moral judging and spiritual leading
- Where have all the good men gone, and why aren’t men marrying?
- Do men have a responsibility not to marry feminists?
- Why do some women tolerate jerks as boyfriends?
- The dangers of sentimentality in relationships
- Is Mark Driscoll afraid to hold a woman accountable for her own choices?
- Why Christian men should be chaste
WINTERY KNIGHT 
1/3 indeed; closer to 40%!
Now, that figure includes both worldly girls AND churchgoing girls, presumably; it would be interesting to see a breakdown, if one is available, by religiosity.
The question is, should we care about the world’s womenfolk going their way, or only about our own in the church? I submit the latter is a higher priority, though the former is still troubling, and worthy of trying to change, as well.
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Unless church-going girls know apologetics and vote Republican, I would think that they would be as promiscuous or more promiscuous when compared to worldly girls. Just stepping into a church building to sing songs once a week doesn’t mean a thing. People can be doing that for fun, and living completely differently from Monday to Saturday.
And I just want to be clear and say that I think men should also be chaste, and I am chaste, and it is AWESOME.
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Alas, I agree; we know that worldliness has infected the church to such an extent, for example, that the divorce rate of Christians is around 38%, and apparently only a bit lower than that of society in general… And indeed, I, too, like others, have encountered many church girls whose faith doesn’t seem to influence their behaviour to the point of acting all that differently from the world; somewhat, yes, but not enough, compared to what it ought to be… Indeed, there are many ‘Sunday Christians’…
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I think that Christians have a problem where they are not treating marriage as a practical enterprise that must be thought through and prepared for. It would be better if people treated it more as an engineering project (“let’s build a marriage together that lasts”) instead of an emotional flight of fancy (“let’s spend a lot on the wedding”).
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Exactly.
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If you believe Relevant Magazine, 80% of evangelicals between 18-29 are sexually active. In the general population, it is 88%.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/285426/evangelicals-collapsing-sexual-mores-david-french
If I was Glen Stanton I would jump for joy and say that evangelicals are at least 10% better, but I’m not, so I won’t.
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LOL! Glenn Stanton is a jackass.
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Just to be certain, does that exclude married people?
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And how did they define sexually active? It sounds like it could mean a few different things.
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A sad situation, it breaks my heart! People will have sex no doubt but it is obvious that people are having sex younger and younger.
There is a lack of a knowledge and fear of God in this world. Everything is relative and sex is simply a “fun” activity. This is how the world sells it. The effects of this are plain to see but the world will not turn and repent, so sadly many more young girls will end up with these regrets. LORD have mercy!
Most of the music is sexually charged, the videos are soft porn and this is what the chidren watch when they get home from school in many homes. Even a bubble gum commercial will have some sexual suggestive act in it for crying out loud.
I used to DJ reggae music and it is ironic that the ones who most liked the music that degrades women are the women themselves; it seems that any sort of attention will do.
I say this to say that our daughters need attention at home and if they don’t get it, they may seek it elsewhere. They must know that they are both special to God and to their parents.
I have two baby girls and I am determined to not let them be one of these statistics; by the help and strength of The LORD.
Thank you for this most insightful blog!
Be blessed!
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I was confused by your choice of post title for a second, WK.
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