How one loses their virginity could set the tone for an individual’s sexual habit for life, according to a new study. In a new research trial, researchers looked into the correlation between first sexual encounters and current sexual habits using an event sampling methodology, or ESM. This way of tracking is also known as experience sampling methodology and works by studying on-going experiences and events that vary within a period of time in a naturally occurring environment.
During the ESM, participants were asked to note their experiences, emotions and perceptions by keeping a journal or answering a questionnaire. This way of recording helps researchers to track trends and understand the behavioural patterns in the participants. There were 311 people involved in the study, all of which were undergraduate students, who answered a questionnaire on their first-time sexual experience, including intimate details about this time and their current sexual preferences. They were also asked to rate their sexual encounters over a period of two weeks, to give researchers a better understanding of the patterns over a short period of time.
The results of the study showed that participants who had a more positive yet inexperienced and awkward first time, which involved trust, intimacy and mutual respect, had a far greater satisfaction with their current sex life than those who didn’t. It was noted that they had a higher sense of self-esteem, sexual confidence and less sexual depression as well. Positive sexual interactions, it appears, provide greater emotional satisfaction later in life, than those who had a negative experience during their first time. The study shows that while we are all aware that our first time plays a great amount of significance in our lives for various emotional and social reasons, it can also pave the way for our sexual future as well.
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