Does having sex at a younger age contribute to delinquency?

According to a new University of Virginia study, results are actually to the contrary.

Under the pretense that having sex at a young age led to subversive behavior, "abstinence education" made its way into our schools, providing yet another reason why ignoring issues probably doesn't make them better. For example, I wonder if in these original studies finding that teen sex did lead to "negative" actions took into account the fact that some of these children (who were not taught about safe sex but only not to have it) had kids of their own, and then to clothe and feed them, had to resort to illegal or "delinquent" activities to do so.

I can't say for sure, but all I know is that this Washington Post article refers to "all other things being equal" in the original studies. Personally, I'm not sure all other things can be equal, because many factors contribute to a person's behavior. Responsible young adults can engage in responsible sex, but it would probably help if they were taught to do so.

The new UVA study focused on identical twins, who, for all other practical purposes, would have "all other things equal." In the end, these results are not terribly conclusive either; however, that doesn't preclude the fact that we should teach our children about safe sex instead of avoiding the situation all together.