Background:

Scientific evidence suggests that starting romantic relationships in early adolescence exposes people to other non-normative behaviors such as earlier sexual initiation, a larger number of sexual partners, and the start of alcohol and drug use, among others, leading to persistent disadvantages later in life.

Objective:

To analyze the association between early romantic relationships and health-risk behaviors in female Chilean adolescents.

Method:

Cross-sectional and analytic study in a population of 4.398 female adolescents who answered a survey during first medical appointment. The study compared adolescents who started romantic relationships in early adolescence (13 years and under), middle adolescence (14 and 16 years), and late adolescence (17 and 19 years). The association between the starting age of romantic relationships and personal, family and behavioral variables was analyzed.

Results:

50.1% of the participants engaged in romantic relationships in early adolescence; 48.3% in middle adolescence, and 1.7% in late adolescence. 84.17% of sample had initiated sexual activity and 26.6% had done so before the age of 15. It was observed that adolescents who had had their first romantic relationships in early adolescence were more at risk of starting sexual activity at an earlier age, and having more sexual partners compared to the other groups. An earlier starting age of romantic relationships was also associated with marijuana use.

Conclusion:

The start of romantic relationships in early adolescence was associated with earlier sexual initiation, more sexual partners, and marijuana use in female adolescents.

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