{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T23:12:51Z","timestamp":1773270771871,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"CSIRO Publishing","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,5]],"date-time":"2025-05-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746403200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":1356,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1071\/journalslicense"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Studies on virgins remain scarce. This study explores the characteristics of virgin young adults, the reasons for remaining virgin, and its potential social and health implications. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2017 Swiss study on sexual health and behaviour among young adults. A total of 5175 participants (mean age 26 years \u00b1 0.01) were divided into virgins and non-virgins. Virginity was defined as never having had a sexual partner, defined as a person with whom the participant has had sexual contact with or without penetration. Results: A total of 275 (5.3% (95% CI: 4.7\u20136.0), 58% males) were virgins. Virgins had higher odds of being male (aOR: 2.27 (95% CI: 1.62\u20133.17)) and reporting poorer health (1.43 (1.07\u20131.92)). They had lower odds of living on their own (0.24 (0.18\u20130.32)), being satisfied with their social life (0.78 (0.72\u20130.85)), having experimented with substances (e.g. drunkenness, 0.27 (0.19\u20130.67)) and having used online dating (0.52 (0.26\u20131.12)) or pornography (0.67 (0.42\u20130.94)). The main reason for remaining virgin was \u2018I have not found the right person\u2019 for females, and \u2018I have not had the occasion\u2019 for males. Conclusions: Among young adults, 1 in 20 is a virgin. Virgins do not seem to have gone through the usual experimentations of adolescence, are less socially driven and reported more health challenges. The main reason for remaining a virgin reveals gender-stereotyped responses. Sexual inactivity among young adults should be considered by health professionals to ensure the absence of distress and open discussion for potential questions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1071\/sh21019","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,17]],"date-time":"2021-08-17T22:45:51Z","timestamp":1629240351000},"page":"327-332","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Virgins at age 26: who are they?"],"prefix":"10.1071","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Marion","family":"Meuwly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"AResearch Group on Adolescent Health, Department of Epidemiology and Health Systems, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisant\u00e9), University of Lausanne, Route de la Corniche 10, CH 1010 Lausanne, Switzerland."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5570-6615","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Joan-Carles","family":"Suris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AResearch Group on Adolescent Health, Department of Epidemiology and Health Systems, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisant\u00e9), University of Lausanne, Route de la Corniche 10, CH 1010 Lausanne, Switzerland."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Diane","family":"Auderset","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AResearch Group on Adolescent Health, Department of Epidemiology and Health Systems, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisant\u00e9), University of Lausanne, Route de la Corniche 10, CH 1010 Lausanne, Switzerland."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sophie","family":"Stadelmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AResearch Group on Adolescent Health, Department of Epidemiology and Health Systems, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisant\u00e9), University of Lausanne, Route de la Corniche 10, CH 1010 Lausanne, Switzerland."}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7834-7707","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yara","family":"Barrense-Dias","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AResearch Group on Adolescent Health, Department of Epidemiology and Health Systems, Center for Primary Care and Public Health (Unisant\u00e9), University of Lausanne, Route de la Corniche 10, CH 1010 Lausanne, Switzerland."},{"name":"BCorresponding author. 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