To investigate which conditions of first intercourse (FI) influence womenʼs sexual health and later sexual experiences.

A convenience sample of adult women from 23 GPs private practices was recruited, throughout the country. A 30-item questionnaire was constructed comprising: demographics, items addressing issues relating to the FI (i.e. age at sexual initiation, emotional reaction to FI). Logistic regression analysis was conducted to detect associations between categorical variables.

A total of 899 women participated, with a mean age of 29.18 yrs (SD=6.39). The average age at sexual initiation was 18.83 (+2.28) yrs and for 92% of participants it was a voluntary experience. Sexual initiation at an older age was associated with increased likelihood to use contraception during FI (OR: 2.18) and to visit a gynecologist afterwards (OR: 2.65). When FI was painful and /or experienced as unpleasant, women tended to react with stress (OR: 1.63), fear (OR: 2.25 and OR: 2.52 respectively) and ‘frigidity’ (OR: 4.45) in later sexual encounters or even abstain (OR: 5.67) from sexual relationships. Having the FI at a younger age was significantly associated with fearfulness towards the partner in future relationships (OR: 4.03).

The study demonstrates that even when FI is a voluntary experience, associated conditions, especially early sexual initiation, influence womenʼs sexual health behaviors and their response to future sexual encounters.