The probability of premarital intercourse

Data on sexual behavior collected retrospectively in a national probability sample survey of females aged 15–19 make it possible, using life table techniques, to compute the probability of having intercourse prior to marriage. Estimates are provided for whites and blacks, for the synthetic cohort based on all five ages combined, and separately for each cohort, i.e., those currently aged 15, aged 16, etc. In addition, minimum and maximum estimates, based on different assumptions regarding ever married females, are also included.