Increasingly widespread sexual experience among unmarried youth and an increasingly young age at initiation of sexual activity should be viewed as an aspect of the increasing stress on autonomy and individuality of the family as in other aspects of society. Sexual relations among the unmarried young have become less a seeking of pleasure or an anticipation of marriage than an affirmation of the self, a rite of passage from the world of children to that of adults. A 1975 survey indicated that 71.4% of the married women interviewed but 53.6% of the single had had premarital sexual relations, but the difference declined with age. 72.3% of single women who expected to marry the partners had had sexual relations, compared to 38.2% who were not engaged. The frequency of premarital relations was inversely related to age, regardless of engagement status. The difference between the mean age at initiation of sexual activity for women intending to marry and other women was 18 months for the older informants but 9 months among the younger. Informants were born between 1946-57. 7 of 10 in the older group who had sexual relations before age 20 also married before age 20, while the proportions were reversed in the younger group. Of all those having sex before age 20, 1 in 4 of the older group but 1 in 10 of the younger married because of pregnancy. Among respondents who remained single, 18% had used no contraception at 1st coitus, 14.2% had used periodic abstinence, 16.1% had used withdrawal, 12.6% had used mechanical or chemical methods, and 39.1% had used pills. Among married respondents, 22.7% had used no method at 1st coitus, 21.9% had used periodic abstinence, 33.1% withdrawal, 10.0% barrier or chemical methods, and 12.1% pills. In later premarital relations, the proportions of single and married respondents respectively who did not use contraception declined to 5.4% and 18.1%. About 80% used the more effective methods after marriage.