Boundary-Setting at Sexual Debut Predicts Later Sexual Wellbeing Including Communication, Condom Use Negotiation, Exposure to Coercive Sex, and Pleasure Deservingness in Young Adults

Little is known about how first partnered sexual experiences - i.e. sexual debut - contribute to long term sexual outcomes. Using a mixed methods approach, we analyzed quantitative and open-ended items from an online, cross-sectional survey of 856 undergraduates from the Midwestern United States, exploring links between sexual debut communication and current sexual communication satisfaction, condom use attitudes, lifetime sexual coercion, and pleasure self-efficacy. We used qualitative content analysis to examine participants' brief descriptions of debut boundary-setting experiences; these analyses showed most participants reported positive boundary-setting experiences at debut. We used a quantified version of qualitative codes to examine associations with other measures of sexual wellbeing. Positive boundary-setting experiences at debut were associated with higher current sexual communication satisfaction, fewer lifetime experiences of sexual coercion, and greater pleasure self-efficacy. Negative boundary-setting experiences were linked to stronger endorsement of partner pressure to not use condoms, more coercion history, and lower pleasure self-efficacy. However, boundary-setting experiences were largely unrelated to perceived entitlement to pleasure. Qualitative and quantitative analyses converged in finding that boundary-setting communication during sexual debut was associated with future sexual wellbeing. These findings point to the need for pre-debut sex education that builds boundary-setting skills to prepare adolescents for healthy sexual futures.