Is Parenting Associated with Teenagers’ Early Sexual Risk‐Taking, Autonomy And Relationship with Sexual Partners?

Abstract

CONTEXT: Extensive research has explored the relationship between parenting and teenagers’ sexual risk-taking. Whether parenting is associated with wider aspects of teenagers’ capacity to form satisfying sexual relationships is unknown.METHODS: Self-reported data were collected in 2007 from 1,854 students, whose average age was 15.5 years, in central Scotland. Multivariate analyses examined associations between parenting processes and sexual outcomes (delayed first intercourse, condom use and several measures reflecting the context or anticipated context of first sex).RESULTS: Parental supportiveness was positively associated with all outcomes (betas, 0.1–0.4), and parental values restricting intercourse were positively associated with all outcomes except condom use (0.1–0.5). Parental monitoring was associated only with delayed intercourse (0.2) and condom use (0.2); parental rules about TV content were associated with delayed intercourse (0.7) and expecting sex in a relationship, rather than casually (0.8). Frequency of parental communication about sex and parental values endorsing contraceptive use were negatively associated with teenagers’ delayed intercourse (–0.5 and –0.3, respectively), and parents’ contraceptive values were negatively associated with teenagers’ expecting sex in a relationship (–0.5). Associations were partly mediated by teenagers’ attitudes, including value placed on having sex in a relationship.CONCLUSIONS: Parents may develop teenagers’ capacity for positive and safe early sex by promoting skills and values that build autonomy and encourage sex only within a relationship. Interventions should promote supportive parenting and transmission of values, avoid mixed messages about abstinence and contraception, and acknowledge that teenagers may learn more indirectly than directly from parents about sex.

The Effects of Parental Monitoring and Communication on Adolescent Substance Use and Risky Sexual Activity: A Systematic Review

“…Of the final twenty articles included in the study, thirteen used cross-sectional study designs [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] and seven had longitudinal study designs [35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. The majority of the studies (12/20) were conducted in the USA [22-26, 29, 31, 33, 34, 38, 40, 41].…”

“…The majority of the studies (12/20) were conducted in the USA [22-26, 29, 31, 33, 34, 38, 40, 41]. The remaining eight studies were conducted in Canada (3/20) [35,37,39], two studies in Slovakia [28,32], one study in Cyprus [36] and one was conducted in Scotland [27]. Both male and female respondents participated in the studies, although the majority consisted of female respondents.…”

“…Of the studies, nine used survey items as either part of their measuring tool or as the sole basis as their data collection tool [23,25,27,28,[30][31][32][33][34]. Three studies used The Network of Relationship Inventory (NRI) [22,38,41], which assessed adolescents' perception of their relationship with their parents/guardians.…”

“…Additionally, it decreased the likelihood of drug use initiation and lowered substance use amongst female high risk takers [23]. In terms of sexual risk, parental monitoring was found to lead to sexual risk avoidance in adolescence with less parental monitoring indicating early onset of first sex as well as no condom use in the most recent sexual activity for both boys and girls [27,28,37]. Parental monitoring also promoted a decrease in delinquent behaviour [34].…”

Karakteristike prvog seksualnog odnosa kod adolescenata

“…Najčešći faktori koji opredeljuju adolescente na početak seksualne aktivnosti su ljubav, telesna privlačnost, pritisak vršnjaka, radoznalost, a nekada će to biti i prinuda od strane vršnjaka ili pak starijih osoba [4]. Istovremeno se ne može prenebregnuti snažan negativni uticaj medija na ranu seksualnu aktivnost kao ni pozitivan uticaj roditelja na odlaganje prvog seksualnog odnosa [5][6][7][8][9]. Rani početak seksualne aktivnosti, nezaštićeni seks, veliki broj partnera i seks u stanjima pijanstva i pod dejstvom drugih psihoaktivnih supstanci u populaciji adolescenata povećava rizik od polno prenosivih infekcija, HIV infekcije, kao i od neželjene trudnoće [10].…”