The influence of primary caregivers on the sexual behavior of early adolescents

Rose, Allison; Koo, Helen P.; Bhaskar, Brinda; Anderson, Karen M.; White, Gregory L.; Jenkins, Renée R.

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2005.02.009

Cited by 93 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Both the weakening of parental influences and the fact that romantic involvement and sexual experiences are normative parts of middle and late adolescent development could explain the decreasing links with age. The stronger link between parent-child relations and age of first sexual intercourse in females, as compared to males, was also found in earlier studies (Davis and Friel, 2001;De Graaf et al 2011;McNeely et al 2002;Rose et al 2005). This finding can be explained by the theory of female erotic plasticity (Baumeister 2000), which states that female sexuality is more susceptible to social influences than male sexuality, whereas male sexuality is more directly tied to biological factors.…”

Section: Family Cohesion and The Timing Of Romantic And Sexual Initiasupporting

confidence: 64%

“…In addition, females generally appear to be more affected by relationships than boys (Rose and Rudolph 2006). Previous research already showed that parental influences on sexual behavior tend to be stronger for girls, compared to boys (Davis and Friel 2001;De Graaf et al 2011;McNeely et al 2002;Rose et al 2005). We therefore expect to find stronger links between family cohesion on the one hand and romantic and sexual initiation on the other hand for females than for males.…”

Section: Goals and Hypotheses Of The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 75%

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Family Cohesion and Romantic and Sexual Initiation: A Three Wave Longitudinal Study

Graaf

Schoot

Woertman

et al. 2011

J Youth Adolescence

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Although the relation between family relationships and the timing of sexual debut has been the focus of many studies, research on mediating factors is scarce. This study examines whether low levels of family cohesion result in an earlier onset of romantic and sexual experiences, and whether the link between family cohesion and an early sexual debut is mediated by early romantic initiation. A longitudinal sample of 314 adolescent girls and 222 boys, aged 12-17 at Wave 1, completed questionnaires at three measurement points with three year intervals. The results showed that sexual debut followed romantic initiation for 77% of the participants. For early adolescent females (aged 12-14), high levels of family cohesion resulted in a later sexual debut and this association was fully mediated by a delay of romantic initiation. Among boys and older girls, timing of romantic initiation did not mediate the link between family cohesion and timing of sexual initiation. Early adolescent girls who have negative relationships with their parents turn to romantic relationships for intimacy and support, which subsequently provide the opportunity for an early sexual debut. Low levels of family cohesion thus primarily precipitate romantic initiation and sexual initiation appears to be secondary to this process among girls in this age group.

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Section: Family Cohesion and The Timing Of Romantic And Sexual Initiasupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Goals and Hypotheses Of The Present Studymentioning

confidence: 75%

Family Cohesion and Romantic and Sexual Initiation: A Three Wave Longitudinal Study

Graaf

Schoot

Woertman

et al. 2011

J Youth Adolescence

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“…Higher caregiver education has been associated with fewer sexual risk behaviors and positively correlated with better parentchild communication in studies of both infected and uninfected adolescents, 32,33 and in overall understanding of sensitive topics encompassing HIV illness, including medical …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial Implications of HIV Serostatus Disclosure to Youth with Perinatally Acquired HIV

Santamaria

Dolezal²,

Marhefka³

et al. 2011

AIDS Patient Care and STDs

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Recommendations suggest that older children and adolescents perinatally infected with HIV (PHIVþ) be informed of their HIV diagnosis; however, delayed disclosure is commonly reported. This study examined the prevalence and timing of HIV disclosure to PHIVþ adolescents and the associations between the timing of disclosure and psychological functioning and other behavioral outcomes. Recruitment took place at four medical centers in New York City between December 2003 and December 2008. This sample included data from 196 PHIVþ youth and their caregivers: 50% of youth were male, 58% African American, 42% Hispanic, with a mean age of 12.71 years. According to caregiver reports, 70% of the PHIVþ youth knew their HIV diagnosis. Youths who had been told were more likely to be older; youths with a Spanish-speaking Latino caregiver and whose caregivers had a grade school education were told at an older age. Youths who had been told their HIV status were significantly less anxious than those who had not been told; there were no other differences in psychological functioning. Youths who knew their status for longer reported higher intentions to self-disclose to potential sex partners. In multivariate analyses only demographic differences associated with timing of disclosure remained. In summary, PHIVþ youth who had been told their HIV status did not show an increase of psychological problems and were more likely to have intentions to self-disclose to sexual partners. Yet, almost one third was entering puberty without important information regarding their illness. Caregivers need support to address factors impeding HIV disclosure.

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“…Studies have consistently found that the general quality of the parent-adolescent relationship and parental monitoring are related to increased sexual health communication, 16,17 which in turn decreases risky sexual decisionmaking. 7,8,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Neither of the two direct monitoring scales was related to communication. It may be that direct monitoring plays a more important role for behaviors in which direct supervision may have a direct impact on the behavior, such as the age of sexual initiation 13 or the use of hormonal contraception.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent Girls' Communication with “Mothers” About Topical Microbicides

Sunder

Ramos

Short

et al. 2006

Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology

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Study Objective-Topical microbicides, a female-initiated method to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy, will only be effective if found acceptable. Mothers may have an influence on acceptability and use among adolescent girls. The current study examined the communication between girls and mothers to understand the potential predictors and nature of conversations regarding surrogate microbicide products.Design-Sexually experienced girls, 14 to 21 years, were recruited for a 6-month study examining microbicide acceptability. During face-to-face interviews, qualitative data were collected regarding communication between girls and mothers. Two independent raters coded the responses, which were organized into themes. Themes were interpreted according to the conceptual understanding of mother-daughter communication.Results-Fifty percent of the 171 girls with codable responses had a conversation with their mother. Higher levels of indirect parental monitoring were related to being more likely to have a conversation. Concrete events related to the study (i.e. receiving phone call from the researcher, having an appointment, or seeing the product) or inquiries by mothers appeared to promote conversation. Barriers to conversation included the private nature of the information and relationship issues between the mother and daughter. Conversations often addressed issues related to girls' participation in the study, although some conversations included global issues related to sexuality.Conclusions-Girls may talk to their mothers about new products for STI prevention, and such conversations may provide opportunities to promote use.

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The influence of primary caregivers on the sexual behavior of early adolescents

Cited by 93 publications

References 27 publications

Family Cohesion and Romantic and Sexual Initiation: A Three Wave Longitudinal Study

Family Cohesion and Romantic and Sexual Initiation: A Three Wave Longitudinal Study

Psychosocial Implications of HIV Serostatus Disclosure to Youth with Perinatally Acquired HIV

Adolescent Girls' Communication with “Mothers” About Topical Microbicides

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