The Influence of Parent and Parent-Adolescent Relationship Characteristics on Sexual Trajectories into Adulthood

Parenting Practices during Childhood and Later Adolescent Sexual Outcomes

Limited empirical evidence exists regarding longitudinal connections between parenting during childhood and adolescents' sexual development. Using structural equation mediation modeling, this study examined how mothers' parenting practices during childhood (ages 8 to 11) directly related to adolescent sexual outcomes (ages 12 to 16) and whether relationships were mediated by parenting practices persisting over time. Two waves of data were used from a large longitudinal national sample including 687 mother-adolescent pairs (M_age = 10.02, SD = 1.15, 50% female, 64% White) in 2002 and 2007. For boys, mothers' knowledge of whereabouts and warmth during childhood had negative direct connections to later frequency of intercourse. However, no parallel connections were found for girls. For both boys and girls, mothers' warmth during childhood was associated with an increased likelihood of sexual debut in adolescence. The findings highlight that parenting practices during childhood directly and indirectly (through parenting trajectories) shape sexual development of children.

Sex Feelings: A Mediated Group Path Analysis of the Association of Perceptions of Parent Communicated Sexual Values with Sexual Attitudes and Outcomes in Emerging Adulthood

Although communication between parents and children about sexually transmitted diseases and avoiding unwanted pregnancy has been shown to be effective in increasing safe sex practices, parents also implicitly (or explicitly) communicate their own values and attitudes about sex in conversations with their children that might have impacts on their children's sexual feelings and behaviors beyond adolescence. Data were collected from undergraduate students in a human development class (N = 351; 265 women). Multiple group path analysis was used to investigate how emerging adults' perceptions of their parents' sexual values, either leaning toward sexual exploration or abstinence, were associated with their own sexual attitudes, frequency of sexual activity with a partner, desired frequency of sexual activity with a partner and sexual satisfaction. Sexual exploration and abstinence values communicated by parents were significantly associated with emerging adults' permissive and instrumental sexual attitudes; however, only permissive sexual attitudes mediated relationships between parental values and emerging adult sexual outcomes. Only parent-communicated abstinence values had significant direct effect on any of the sexual outcomes (sexual satisfaction). Additionally, gender only moderated the direct relationship between parental abstinence values and sexual frequency; this relationship was significant only for women.

Adolescent Sexual Development: A Family Perspective

Adolescent sexual development is informed by individual, relational, generational, institutional, and cultural perspectives. Families matter: they are the social institution at the intersection of adolescent development and broader social systems, charged with the responsibility for rearing children and adolescents to adulthood. This narrative review maps insights from family theory and research onto adolescent sexual development research. Our purpose is to inform sexuality researchers from diverse fields about how family perspectives can enrich understanding of adolescent sexual development. We present the critical, intersectional theoretical framework guiding this review as consisting of three meta-themes for understanding families through an examination of family structure, process, and context. Then, we apply those meta-themes to current research on adolescent sexual development by selectively organizing our review around the contexts of family structural diversity and family relational complexity, demonstrating that both the structure and the process components are embedded within the intersectional and cultural contexts that shape and are shaped by families. Our review demonstrates that diverse, intersectional family structures and transitions may affect adolescent sexual development by influencing family processes, particularly around sexual communication. We conclude with implications of using family perspectives for future inquiry related to adolescent sexual development.

Is There More Than One Way to Talk About Sex? A Longitudinal Growth Mixture Model of Parent-Adolescent Sex Communication

PURPOSE

Parents can be effective and consistent sex educators of their children, but research suggests that most parents only engage in a one-time talk about sex with their children. That being said, we know little about the potential variability in trajectories of parent-child sex communication over time. Thus, the present study took a person-centered approach to parent-child sex communication about sexual risk and explored predictors and outcomes of varying trajectories.

METHODS

Participants included 468 adolescents and their parents who took part in a longitudinal study every year from ages 14-18 years (52% female, 67% white, and 33% single parents).

RESULTS

Growth mixture modeling suggested four different trajectories of parent-child sex communication using child reports and two different trajectories using mother and father reports, with the majority of parents displaying low and stable levels of communication over time. Predictors and outcomes suggested that varying trajectories were in part a function of child behaviors (i.e., early sexual debut and externalizing behaviors), and mothers who reported trajectories of moderate-stable levels of communication had children who reported safer sex practices at age 21 years.

CONCLUSIONS

The discussion focused on the benefits of longitudinal, person-centered approaches at identifying variability in parenting and the implications of findings for those concerned about the need for parental education on the importance of sex communication across adolescence.

How Do Parents Teach "No Means No"? An Exploration of How Sexual Consent Beliefs Are Socialized During Adolescence

Research on sexual consent has increased in recent years, but we know almost nothing about how beliefs about consent are socialized during adolescence, which likely has important implications for behaviors related to obtaining sexual consent. The current study explored the frequency of parent-adolescent consent communication, as well as demographic, adolescent, and parent predictors of adolescents' beliefs about the importance of consent and the frequency of parent-adolescent consent communication. Two national samples were used, one consisting of 2,044 adolescents, ages 13 to 18 (M _age = 16.19, SD = 1.71; 50% female), and a second sample of 2,081 nonrelated individuals, ages 28 to 81, who were parents of teens ages 13-18 (M _age = 15.25, SD = 1.56). Findings suggested that parents did not talk about sexual consent any more than they did about other sexual topics (e.g., reproduction). We also found that maternal warmth was positively associated with adolescents' importance of consent beliefs and that adolescents' uninhibited temperament and parents' self-efficacy and sexual beliefs were associated with parent-adolescent consent communication. The discussion focuses on the need to educate parents so they feel more confident talking to adolescents about the importance of giving and receiving sexual consent.

Parent-child communication about sex and romantic feelings: does having older siblings make a difference?

Parental involvement in sex education and the quality of parent-child communication about romantic feelings appear to have a protective effect on adolescent sexual behaviours. However, little research has been conducted on the role played by birth order in the level of parental involvement in sex education. This is the first study seeking to address if the quality of parent-child communication about sex and romantic sentiments differs according to whether respondents have—or do not have—older siblings in Italy. Hypotheses concerning the role of sib-ship gender composition have been tested in order to explain potential intervening mechanisms. Data were drawn from the Sexual and Emotional Life of Youths survey (SELFY), a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2000 and in 2017 on Italian university students (N = 12,265). Our findings identify later-born children as the least likely to confide in parents. Although boys are generally less likely to talk to parents than girls, respondent gender does not moderate the effect of birth order. Instead, sib-ship gender composition plays a role: having grown up with at least one same-gender sibling is associated with a lower communication with parents about intimate matters. This study suggests that growing up with siblings, namely with same-gender siblings, make a difference in parent-child communication and this should be considered while evaluating the role of parental involvement in adolescent sexual education.