More than a quarter of young adults in the US say that they have experienced violence in their current relationship, according to a study produced by the Child Trends think-tank.

The report examined the sexual relationships of those aged 18-25, and found that 26 per cent of those in that age group reported experiencing violence, perpetrated by either themselves or their partner.

The study also showed that almost one third of young adults (31 per cent) reported that they had engaged in sex with their partner within the first month of knowing him or her. Five percent knew their partner only one day prior to having sex.

The study draws on information contained in the US Government’s National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health).

Previous research has shown that rates of physical aggression in intimate relationships are highest among younger couples.

Twenty two percent of young adults reported that they had experienced threats, throwing things, or pushing and shoving. Ten percent of respondents reported that they had experienced slapping and kicking, and 7 percent reported that either they or their partner had been injured.

When considering sexual insistence within young adult relationships, eight percent of respondents reported that their partner insisted or made them have sex when they did not want to do so. Three percent reported that they had insisted on sex when their partner did not want to have sex.

Although research finds that violence occurs in all types of relationships, it is less likely to be experienced in dating relationships than it is in cohabiting and married relationships.

Thirty percent of married young adults and 32 percent of cohabiting young adults reported violence in their relationships, compared with 19 percent of young adults in exclusive dating relationships and 25 percent of young adults in casual dating relationships.

The study also showed that relationship violence and sexual insistence differed by gender and race.

More young adult women (29 percent) than young adult men (22 percent) reported any violence in their current relationships. A slightly greater proportion of women than of men also reported that their partner insisted on having sex when they did not want to (nine percent versus 6 percent).

White young adults were less likely than were their black and Hispanic counterparts to report violence in their relationships (23 percent versus 33 percent and 32 percent, respectively).

Fewer white respondents than black respondents reported that they had insisted that their partner have sex when they did want not want to (3 percent versus 5 percent).

In terms of the length of time that young people wait before their first sexual encounter with a partner, the report showed that 30 percent of young adults waited one to five months before having sex, and an additional 14 percent waited six to 11 months.

Thirty percent of young adults who were now married reported that they had waited a year or more after knowing their partner before having sex, compared with 21 percent of young adults who were cohabiting and 24 percent who were dating (both exclusively and casually).

Women were more likely than were men to wait a year or more before having sex for the first time with their partner (27 percent versus 22 percent). Approximately 36 percent of young adult men had sex with their partner within the first month of knowing that partner, compared with 27 percent of young adult women.

According to the study, those aged between 18 and 25 are more likely to perceive that a partner has been unfaithful than to report that they have been unfaithful themselves, with important differences across relationship type and race/ethnicity.

Approximately 14 percent of all young adults thought that their partner had had other sexual partners during their relationship, whereas less than 8 percent of respondents said that they themselves had had sex with someone other than their partner at some point during their current relationship.

Young adults who were dating casually (28 percent) were more than twice as likely as were those who were married (13 percent), cohabiting (13 percent), or dating exclusively (11 percent) to report that their partner had had other sexual partners during the relationship.