Parenting and Adolescents' Sexual Initiation
- 23 October 2009
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Marriage and Family
- Vol. 71 (4), 969-982
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00647.x
Abstract
This study draws on social control and social learning theories to examine the role of dating‐specific attitudes and practices as predictors of adolescents' sexual initiation. We include attention to the adolescent's reaction to control attempts as a further means of assessing family dynamics (i.e., frequency of dating disagreements). The study uses longitudinal data from 697 adolescents who were not sexually active at the first interview as well as separate interviews with parents. In models that include all parenting variables, parental caring, parents' preferences that the child should delay sex, and the frequency of dating disagreements were significant predictors of initiation of teen sexual activity.Keywords
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Continued Importance of Quality Parent–Adolescent Relationships During Late AdolescenceJournal of Research on Adolescence, 2008
- Predictors of Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Intention: A Theory-Guided Systematic ReviewJournal of Adolescent Health, 2007
- Parental Involvement, Family Structure, and Adolescent Sexual Decision MakingSociological Perspectives, 2006
- Talking About Sex: Religion and Patterns of Parent–Child Communication about Sex and ContraceptionThe Sociological Quarterly, 2005
- Preadolescent Parenting Strategies and Teens' Dating and Sexual Initiation: A Longitudinal AnalysisJournal of Marriage and Family, 2001
- Demographic, Biological, Psychological, and Social Predictors of the Timing of First IntercourseJournal of Research on Adolescence, 2000
- How Latino American and European American adolescents discuss conflicts, sexuality, and AIDS with their mothers.Developmental Psychology, 2000
- Family Structure and Patterns of Independence Giving to AdolescentsJournal of Family Issues, 1998
- Protecting adolescents from harm. Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent HealthJAMA, 1997
- Tests of Equality Between Sets of Coefficients in Two Linear RegressionsEconometrica, 1960