Women in rural areas start having sex at a younger age

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compared the differences in sexual activity between women who live in the country and women who live  in the city. The statistics show that women in rural areas generally have sex earlier than women in urban areas. Females who grow up in the country also tend to have more children, according to the study findings.

The CDC conducted the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) for their investigation, which involved 10,000 women in the United States between the ages of 18 and 44.

People living in rural America are perceived as being more religious, so the fact that rural females have sex before urban females comes as a surprise. The study revealed that women in urban areas become sexually active at 16.6 years of age on average, while women in the city start having sex around 17.4 years old.

In addition, the survey showed that a higher percentage of women in the country have three or more children compared to women in the city. 41.6 percent of urban women do not have any children, while only 30.3 percent of rural women are childless.

More women living in rural areas were also found to use the most effective methods of contraception, such as contraceptive sterilization or intrauterine device, in the past year compared with women in urban areas.

Furthermore, there was little difference in the percentages of women who reported being currently married or living with a partner, yet a higher percentage of women living in rural areas reported being formerly married and not currently cohabiting.

The NSFG collects data on fertility, cohabitation, marriage, use of contraception, and reproductive health. More information can be found on the NSFG website.

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer