The effects of parental attitudes, practices, and television mediation on adolescent sexual behaviors were investigated in a study of adolescent sexuality and media (N=887). Confirmatory factor analyses supported an eight-factor parenting model with television mediation factors as constructs distinct from general parenting practices. Logistic regressions indicated that adolescents reporting greater parental disapproval and limits on viewing at Wave 1 were less likely to initiate oral sex between Waves 1 and 2. Adolescents who reported more sexual communication with parents were more likely to initiate oral sex. Results for vaginal intercourse were similar to those for oral sex. Co-viewing was a significant negative predictor of initiation of sexual behavior. Parental attitudes and television mediation can delay potentially risky adolescent sexual behaviors. KeywordsAdolescent sexual/contraceptive behavior; media; parenting Although national statistics indicate that the percentage of adolescents who report having engaged in sexual intercourse has decreased from 54% to 46% over the last decade (CDC, 2006), recent research suggests that youth may be supplanting one form of risky behavior with other potentially risky sexual behaviors such as oral sex (Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005). For example, over half of adolescents aged 15 -19 (55% of males and 54% of females) report having ever had oral sex, with a significantly greater proportion of older youth reporting having engaged in oral sex (71%) relative to younger teens (43%). These data give cause for concern as research shows that oral sex places individuals at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and gonorrhea and may also be a greater factor in HIV transmission than previously thought (Edwards & Carne, 1998;Hawkins, 2001;Robinson & Evans, 1999). Given the prevalence and potential risks associated with both oral sex and vaginal intercourse such as unwanted pregnancy and STIs, it is important to understand the psychosocial factors that are predictive of involvement in these sexual behaviors in order to design effective prevention programs.Several decades of parent-child research have identified an extensive set of familial factors and parenting processes that influence adolescent risky behaviors and development both directly and indirectly (see Maccoby & Martin, 1983;Miller, 2002). These variables include genetic influences, structural features, parenting practices/family management, parenting style and emotional relationships. Studies have routinely found relationships between these parenting factors and adolescent sexual behaviors such as intercourse initiation and contraceptive use (see Kotchick, Shaffer, Forehand, & Miller, 2001;Meshke, Bartholomae, & Zentall., 2002;Huebner & Howell, 2003). Additionally, over 25 studies on parenting and adolescent sexuality/sexual behavior have been presented or published using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a large scale national data set with in-de...

Little research has been conducted to examine the influence of exposure to televised sexual content on adolescent sexuality or how parental intervention may reduce negative effects of viewing such content. This study uses self-report data from 1,012 adolescents to investigate the relations among exposure to sexually suggestive programming, parental mediation strategies, and three types of adolescent sexuality outcomes: participation in oral sex and sexual intercourse, future intentions to engage in these behaviors, and sex expectancies. As predicted, exposure to sexual content was associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in sexual behaviors, increased intentions to do so in the future, and more positive sex expectancies. Often, parental mediation strategies were a significant factor in moderating these potential media influences.

Purpose-The current study examined adolescent conceptualizations of virginity and abstinence and whether differences in adolescent definitions of these terms differed by age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual experience.Methods-A series of logistic regressions were conducted to examine whether gender, age, ethnicity and sexual experience predicted whether adolescents believed that an individual was still a virgin or abstinent after engaging in genital touching, oral sex, vaginal intercourse, or anal sex.Results-Findings indicated that loss of virginity was linked primarily with vaginal and anal intercourse. While greater proportion of adolescents attributed a loss of abstinence to lower genital touching and oral sex behaviors as well, significant variability emerged in how abstinent behavior was defined. Sexual experience was the strongest predictor of how adolescents defined virginity and abstinence.Conclusions-Significant differences exist in youths' definitions of abstinence and virginity. This suggests that additional attention is needed to ensure a common understanding of these terms in order to achieve successful sexual education and prevention programs. KeywordsAdolescence; virginity; abstinence In light of the increased attention given to virginity pledges and abstinence programs aimed at delaying adolescent vaginal intercourse, understanding adolescents' conceptualizations of sexual behavior has become increasingly important. Do adolescents who pledge to remain a virgin believe that behaviors other than vaginal intercourse are acceptable and outside the scope of their pledges? Does abstinence include touching a partner's genitals and/or participating in oral sex? It is unknown whether adolescents may be engaging in non-coital sexual behaviors such as oral sex more frequently than vaginal intercourse because they believe they will remain virgins, or alternatively, because they believe they are engaging in abstinent behavior. The current study is a first step at understanding adolescent sexual behavior by assessing how adolescents define a range of sexual behaviors in terms of virginity and abstinence.Previous studies addressing conceptualizations of virginity and abstinence have been conducted primarily among young adults. 1,2 For example, one study asked college students to indicate whether each of 11 different sexual behaviors would be considered "having sex" if it was the most intimate behavior one engaged in with a partner. The items included deep kissing, oral (mouth) contact with breasts or nipples, and penile-anal intercourse. The results indicate that few college students considered deep kissing as sex (2%) whereas almost all considered penile-vaginal intercourse as having sex (99.5%). Interestingly, 60% did not think that oral-genital contact constitutes having sex whereas 81% believed that penile-anal intercourse does count as having sex. 1 Males were more likely than females to indicate that less risky sexual behaviors (e.g., genital touching) counted as having sex, although there were few...

This study examined whether a comprehensive set of psychosocial factors was equally predictive of both adolescent vaginal intercourse and oral sex among 1,105 adolescents aged 12-16. Logistic regressions were used to examine the relationships between parental communication, religiosity, bonding to school, heavy drinking, sex expectancies, normative beliefs, and both oral sex and vaginal intercourse. Age, gender, bonding to school, heavy drinking, and negative health expectancies predicted both oral sex and vaginal intercourse. Parental communication was associated with vaginal intercourse but not oral sex. Behavior-specific normative beliefs were differentially associated with oral and vaginal sex.Few studies have examined the risk and protective factors associated with oral sex, despite recent findings suggesting that adolescents are more likely to engage in oral sex than vaginal intercourse (Prinstein, Meade, & Cohen, 2003;Remez, 2000). National data indicate that between 36% and 49% of adolescents aged 15-19 report having engaged in oral sex (Gates & Sonenstein, 2000; Hoff, Greene, & Davis, 2003). These data are cause for concern given research showing that oral sex places individuals at some risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as human papillomavirus (HPV) and gonorrhea (Edwards & Carne, 1998). Given the prevalence and potential risks associated with oral sex, it is important to understand the psychosocial factors that are predictive of involvement in this behavior in order to design effective prevention programs.A number of studies have found that psychosocial factors in the family, school, peer, and individual domains predict vaginal intercourse among adolescents (Kotchick, Shaffer, Forehand, & Miller, 2001;Resnick et al. 1997). Fewer studies have examined the relationship between these factors and oral sex. A recent study by Prinstein et al. (2003) indicates that adolescents who reported having had oral sex were more likely to report that their best friend had also had oral sex. In addition, a significant positive association was found between the friend's perceived number of oral sex partners and the total number of partners reported by the respondent. This was not the case when vaginal intercourse was examined, suggesting that adolescent oral sex behavior may be more susceptible to peer influences than vaginal intercourse. Adolescents who were rated as more popular by their peers were also more likely to have reported engaging in oral sex. However, among adolescents who had engaged in oral sex, those who reported a greater number of partners were less popular among their peers. These findings indicate a strong, yet complex relationship between peer sexual behavior and oral sex.The present study tests the implicit assumption underlying many sex education courses: psychosocial variables that predict adolescent vaginal intercourse extend to other risky sexual behaviors. The study will examine whether a comprehensive set of risk and protective factors is equally predictive o...