Explore the vast range of titles available.

This study examined family structural variables (family income, parental education, and maternal marital status) and process variables (maternal monitoring, mother-adolescent general communication, mother-adolescent sexual communication, and maternal attitudes about adolescent sexual behavior) as predictors of indices of adolescent sexual behavior and risk due to sexual behavior in 907 Black and Hispanic families from Montgomery, Alabama, New York City, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The findings indicated that family-structure variables failed to predict adolescent sexual behavior. In contrast, each of three family-process variables predicted multiple indices of adolescent sexual behavior and risk due to sexual behavior. Neither adolescent gender nor ethnicity qualified the findings. Differences did emerge among the three locations and by reporter (adolescent of mother) of the family process variables.

This study extends current research on the relationship of parenting processes to adolescent sexual behavior by asking what parenting behaviors are related to sexual risk taking among sexually active adolescent males and females. Parenting behaviors considered were communication about sexual issues, support, and psychological and behavioral controls. Sexual risk taking was assessed by using a composite measure of the number of sexual partners, the consistency of contraceptive use, and the effectiveness of contraceptive method. The sample of 350 primarily White ninth- to 12th-grade students was drawn from a population of 2,257 junior and high school students who were surveyed as part of a larger study. Logistic regression analysis revealed gender differences in the effect of parents' behaviors on the sexual risk taking of their sons and daughters. An interaction effect was observed between parental communication about sexual issues and perceived parental support for males only. For females, parental psychological control increased the odds that a sexually active daughter would take more sexual risks. In addition, parental monitoring significantly decreased the odds that sexually active male and female adolescents would be high risk takers.

This study examines age differences among adolescent females, the fathers of their children, and their first sexual partners, as well as the girl's relationship to her first partner. It uses data from Vital Statistics, the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey, and the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. We investigate the potential impact of statutory rape laws on teen fertility and the initiation of sexual activity. We find that age differences between teen mothers and the fathers of their children follow historic norms. We further show that one may draw misleading conclusions about the extent to which teen girls engage in sexual activity with older men if conclusions are based simply on data on births. Finally, our demonstration of the potential effects of statutory rape laws on teen births and the age pattern of first intercourse suggests that even successful enforcement of these laws is unlikely to lead to substantial reductions in teen childbearing.

This paper aims to investigate the ways in which parents relate to the emotional and sexual lives of their adolescent children, considering the changes that occurred in the configuration of current families, at both the relational and structural level. Of these two levels, the former considers the quality of relations among family members, while the latter refers to the new family forms currently appearing within the social scenario, disarranging the traditional way of thinking about the family and originating new ways of conceiving the roles of male and female, being together, the idea of couple and – last but not least – sexuality and the various ways of living and experiencing it. The idea is to test whether the new family configurations show different ways, compared to the traditional family, in considering children’s education and managing aspects related to this stage of life. We focus here on same-sex families, with the aim of understanding the complexities determined in this specific family environment – which in many respects is still not fully recognized in Italy. The article in the end points out the theoretical and methodological challenges that will have to be tackled in future; and relatively, it points out a research, which aims to explore the socialisation process of adolescents, and their consequent sexual approach, in the homosexual families contest.

Sexual agency (i.e., the ability to make decisions and assertions related to one’s own sexuality) is associated with sexual health enhancing outcomes. Given that young women are expected to act passively, rather than with agency when it comes to sexual encounters, the present study aimed to explore whether parental support, knowledge, and communication about sexuality during late adolescence contribute to an enhancement of sexual agency in a sample of young women in the long-term. Using a longitudinal design (panel study), 320 female participants who participated in three data collection waves (T1, T2, and T5) were included in the analyses (Mage = 16.2 years, SD = 0.50 at baseline). Mediated by the frequency of parents’ communication about sexuality with their daughters, both dimensions of parental support (emotional engagement and support of autonomy) positively predicted adolescent women’s sexual agency two years later. In contrast, parental knowledge of their children’s whereabouts was unrelated to communication and female sexual agency. Specific dimensions of parenting seem to play a crucial role in empowering adolescent girls to act agentic through communicating, emotional support, and encouraging autonomy, which in turn may contribute to healthy sexual behavior in young adulthood.

Families are critical for supporting healthy sexuality and relationship development for youth with autism. The objective of this study was to describe family sexuality communication for adolescent girls with autism. Participants were 141 parents of autistic daughters who completed an online survey about sexuality development. Most parents relied on discussion alone rather than visual supports or skills-based teaching techniques. Intellectual functioning, child age, race/ethnicity, and whether youth expressed sexual interest in others affected family sexuality communication. We discuss how most parents covered important basics, but many did not cover more nuanced relationship or sexual health topics during family sexuality communication. Few used enhanced instructional techniques (e.g., visual supports, social stories), suggesting potential utilization barriers such as a lack of affordable and available resources. There is a need for research accounting for diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations including asexuality/demisexuality, and for transgender and gender diverse youth.

Background Improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health continues to be a global public health need. Effective parent–adolescent communication on sexual health issues has been cited as a factor that could influence adolescents towards adopting safer sexual behaviour. The current review synthesises qualitative literature to understand the nature and relevance of parent–adolescent sexual and reproductive health communication and the barriers to effective communication in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods We systematically searched and synthesised qualitative literature published between 1st January 1990 to December 2019 and searched from CINAHL, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Global Health, EMBASE, PubMed, and Google Scholar. We assessed the methodological quality of included studies using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. We thematically analysed qualitative data from the included primary studies. Results Fifteen studies were included. Social and physiological events act as triggers for initiating discussions. Fear of personal, social, and economic consequences of high-risk sexual behaviours act as drivers for communication but also carry a negative framing which hinders open discussion. Lack of parental self-efficacy and cultural and religious norms create an uncomfortable environment leaving peers, media, teachers, and siblings as important and sometimes preferred sources of sexual health information. Conclusions While mothers recognise their own role in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and school-based interventions can act as useful prompts for initiating discussion, fathers are mainly absent from home-based dialogue. Fear dominates the narrative, and the needs of adolescents remain unarticulated. Plain English Summary Improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health remains an important public health need globally. Effective communication on sexual health issues between adolescents and their parents has been recognised to influence safer sexual behaviour among adolescents. This review combined qualitative evidence to understand the nature of, and barriers to communication about sex between parents and adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. We searched academic databases for relevant articles published between January 1990 and December 2019 and found 15 studies of appropriate quality. Data on parents and adolescents’ experiences of sex communication in these studies was synthesised. Drivers for sex communication including fear of personal and economic consequences were highlighted. Results also identified barriers to communication such as cultural and religious norms and lack of parental knowledge and skills. Findings showed that adolescents sometimes prefer other sources of sexual health information like peers, media, and siblings. Mothers are recognised to be more involved with home-based interactions on sexual health with adolescents compared to fathers. The results of this review point to the necessity for adolescents’ needs to be understood and articulated towards influencing policy and programmes. Key messages Adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa remain at high risk for sexually transmitted infections, female genital mutilation, and early pregnancy. Adolescents mostly view sex-related discussions with parents as uncomfortable, and interactions are driven by fear of personal, social, and economic consequences of sexual risk-taking behaviour. Parents recognise their lack of capacity to engage with adolescents and are influenced by cultural norms and religious beliefs. Future research needs to address the current imbalance of adult versus adolescent voices in published work and also ensure a creation of space for conversations about sexuality with sexual and gender minority youth in the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual communities.

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 (Mage = 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.

One main source of sexual socialization lies within family interactions. Especially sexuality-specific parenting may determine adolescents’ sexual development—adolescents’ sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior, sexualized media consumption and permissive sexual attitudes—to a significant extent, but different ideas exist about how this works. In this longitudinal study, we examined two hypotheses on how sexuality-specific parenting—parenting aimed specifically at children’s sexual attitudes and behaviors—relates to adolescents’ sexual development. A first buffer hypothesis states that parents’ instructive media discussions with their children—called instructive mediation—buffers the effect of sexualized media consumption on adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior and, vice versa, the effect of adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behavior on sexualized media consumption. A second brake hypothesis states that parents, by communicating love-and-respect oriented sexual norms, slow down adolescents’ development toward increased sexualized media use, permissive sexual attitudes, and sexual behavior and sexual risk behavior. Using four-wave longitudinal data from 514 Dutch adolescents aged 13–16 years (49.8% female), we found evidence to support a brake effect. More frequent parental communication of love-and-respect oriented sexual norms was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes and, for boys, with less advanced sexual behavior and a less rapid increase in sexual risk behavior. Parents’ instructive mediation regarding adolescents’ sexualized media consumption was associated with less permissive sexual attitudes at baseline, but only for girls. No systematic evidence emerged for a buffer effect of parents’ instructive mediation. In conclusion, although our data seem to suggest that parent–child communication about sex is oftentimes “after the fact”, we also find that more directive parental communication that conveys love-and-respect oriented sexual norms brake adolescents’ move toward sexual maturity.

Differential susceptibility theory stipulates that individuals vary in their susceptibility to environmental effects, often implying that the same individuals differ in the same way in their susceptibility to different environmental exposures. The latter point is addressed herein by evaluating the extent to which early-life harshness and unpredictability affect mother's psychological well-being and parenting, as well as their adolescent's life-history strategy, as reflected in number of sexual partners by age 15 years, drawing on data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Results indicated that mothers whose well-being and parenting proved more susceptible to harshness also proved somewhat more susceptible to environmental unpredictability, with the same being true of adolescent sexual behavior. Nevertheless, findings caution against overgeneralizing sample-level findings to all individuals.