--- title: Study: Your Genes Can Influence When You Lose Your Virginity description: One researcher says it's "one quarter nature, three quarters nurture" canonical: https://time.com/4298552/virginity-genes-study/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-18T22:57:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:50:54.971Z article:section: Science og:title: How Your Genes Can Influence When You Lose Your Virginity og:description: One researcher says it's "one quarter nature, three quarters nurture" og:url: https://time.com/4298552/virginity-genes-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Your Genes Can Influence When You Lose Your Virginity twitter:description: One researcher says it's "one quarter nature, three quarters nurture" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # How Your Genes Can Influence When You Lose Your Virginity by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Apr 18, 2016 10:57 PM CUT by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Apr 18, 2016 10:57 PM CUT **Correction appended, April 20** Losing your virginity may seem like a product of circumstance, but according to a new [study](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/18/genes-influence-the-age-at-which-you-lose-your-virginity-first-sex-dna "undefined"), the age at which you become sexually active can be—at least in part—determined by your DNA. The study, published in the journal [_Nature Genetics_](http://www.nature.com/articles/ng.3551.epdf?referrer%5Faccess%5Ftoken=4fiXi3br9lmdnkFbAkeMNdRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0NLJFrNUhKNqRw96iEw156V0sYOcNcFhGDmK0vPziPD0TKZw1ISYJKNl0IMrbrJDxlA5G%5FbJ0uFjQdNEGEmrZZD-mZPlQ87AmLr6f11zBCnEv1x3tWR8OnGKQcWO8HOh9xFzzHsDKuU05nAJzHfiJpklGgqfh4ly%5FK%5FsY5Fh3NDTmjDrNeMGe0rbK8eCJKO-HY%5FhZmdvKJumcGY1jKBOxuY5AGxKUgZDn7tISDBN%5F371g%3D%3D&tracking%5Freferrer=www.theguardian.com "undefined")_,_ found that while the age of first sexual experience is influenced more by factors like peer behavior and family background, genetics could account for 25% of variation. As Cambridge University epidemiologist John Perry put it, it’s “one quarter nature, three quarters nurture,” the _Guardian_ reports. Some of the sections of DNA found to be connected with age of first sexual encounter were genes that influence the release of sex hormones and onset of puberty, while others are linked to things like behavior and appearance. The study was conducted using information about 125,000 people in the U.K. BioBank project and about 250,000 others in the U.S. and Iceland. \[[_The Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/apr/18/genes-influence-the-age-at-which-you-lose-your-virginity-first-sex-dna "undefined")\] **Correction**: The original version of this story misstated the name of the journal that published the study. It is _Nature Genetics_. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4298552/virginity-genes-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4298552/virginity-genes-study/"},"headline":"How Your Genes Can Influence When You Lose Your Virginity","datePublished":"2016-04-18T22:57:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:50:54.971Z","description":"One researcher says it's \"one quarter nature, three quarters nurture\"","url":"https://time.com/4298552/virginity-genes-study/","keywords":["Genetics"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/genetics/","name":"Genetics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4298552/virginity-genes-study/","name":"How Your Genes Can Influence When You Lose Your Virginity"}}]}] ```