NEW YORK CITY, NY — It’s good news for adults with healthy sexual appetites and bad news for sexual ideologues pushing an abstinence-only agenda: the longer you wait to have sex, the more likely you are to have sexual health problems!According to a new research study concerning the effect of age at the time of first sexual encounter upon health later in life, the longer a person waits to explore the pleasures of the flesh, the more likely they are to develop physical and emotional problems.

Although the study, which appears in the January issue of the American Journal of Public Health, reports that both men and women experience difficulties when they dispose of their virginity later than the national average, men were the big losers, with more of them reporting erectile dysfunction and difficulty achieving orgasm than those with a younger sensual start date.

This doesn’t mean that earlier is better, however. Researchers also observed that those who begin having sex younger than the national average are also likely to run into problems; chief among them a greater risk of contracting STDs, perhaps related to their greater number of trysting partners and the stronger likelihood of alcohol-impaired judgment.

Why the early and late explorers involved in the 8,000 person survey are more likely to struggle with sexual issues than those who become sexual at a more standard age is not yet fully understood, but the research team cautions those who might feel their findings support right wing abstinence-only education programs to think again.

“Although our findings support an association between early initiation and long-term risk, they also suggest a more complicated picture of sexual functioning,” Dr. Theo G.M. Sandfort of Columbia University in New York City and his colleagues observe.

The information provided during the 1996 research leads the team to propose that postponing sexual activity may actually “create health risks by impeding development of the emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal skills that are crucial to satisfactory sexual functioning and general well-being.”

Adults raised with sexual shame and its accompanying difficulties in identifying, communicating, and enjoying their desires will likely respond with a big “duh.”

For those wondering where they fit in the grand scheme of things, the average age of first partnered sexual experience for respondents was 17 or 18. “Early starters” were considered those who became intimate with others at the age of 14 or earlier, while those whose virginity was released at age 22 or older were defined as “late starters.”

Ultimately, Sandfort’s team expresses support for comprehensive sexual education for youth, observing that “Sexual education t hat is more supportive and acknowledges the diverse needs of young people might prevent the negative outcomes observed here.”

Somebody needs to tell that to President George Bush, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services.