The present study examines the health and social consequences of adolescent premarital sexual relations on a sample of Puerto Rican youths. Investigators used a longitudinal design, covering a five-year period to answer the following questions:

The data in waves 1 through 3 (1980-1982) were originally collected by investigators M. Gutierrez and B. Montalvo as a study entitled Dropping Out and Delinquency Among Puerto Rican Youths: A Longitudinal Study. Waves 1 through 3 include information from both the respondent and a parent (usually the mother). The study includes variables on educational status and delinquent behavior, as well as variables which tap into intra-familial processes, family interfaces with school and community, and peer influences. In addition, questionnaires obtained standard demographic data such as age, sex, marital status, socioeconomic status, parents' educational and work status, family language, and number of years in the United States. The average ages of youths interviewed in waves 1 through 3 were 16.5, 17.5, and 18.5 respectively. Data from wave 4, collected when the youths were an average age of 21, documents the sexual behavior histories of a subsample of the youths interviewed in waves 1 through 3. Wave 4 contains data only from the youths. In this final wave, investigators documented not only the occurrence of premarital sexual behavior, but also the nature of the experience and relationship with the sexual partner. Information was collected on the youth's health status and economic well-being, along with extensive contraceptive, pregnancy, and birth histories. A number of items pertaining to educational and employment histories, family relations, drug and alcohol use, trouble with the law, aspirations for future, and cultural identification were included in the questionnaire.