No.

27

Brief
The Parental Factor in Teen Sex Outcomes
Summary
Teens who have a good relationship with their parents are less likely to engage in risky sexual
behavior. Also, when parents send a clear message to their youth that they disapprove of teen sexual
activity and when they closely monitor teens behavior, youth are more likely to delay sexual activity.

Delayed Sexual Activity. Youths who report

good relationships with their mothers and who
feel their mothers disapprove of their having
sex, are more likely to delay sexual activity.
Youths who reported both the highest level of
mothers disapproval of their being sexually active
and the highest level of quality of relationship
with their mothers, were more than 17 times less
likely to be sexually active in the 12 months after
they were surveyed than peers who reported the
lowest levels of mothers disapproval and motheradolescent relationship.1

Teen Pregnancy. Adolescent girls who feel that

their mothers highly disapprove of their having
sex and have a good relationship with their
mothers are less likely to become pregnant.
Youths who reported both the highest level of
mothers disapproval of their being sexually active
and the highest level of quality relationship with
their mothers, were more than 13 times less likely
to become pregnant within the 12 months after
they were surveyed than peers who reported the
lowest levels of mothers disapproval and quality
of relationship with their mothers.2

Number of Sexual Partners. The more sexually

liberal adolescents perceive their mothers to
be, the more sexual partners youth tend to
have. Data based on a nationally representative

sample showed that youth between age15 and 18

who perceived that their mothers hold more liberal
views on teen sexual activity have more sexual
partners than peers who believe that their mothers
hold less liberal views on teen sex. 3

Sexually Activity. Teen girls who say they have

a close relationship with their fathers are less
likely to become sexually active. Among a sample
of adolescent virgins from intact, two- parent
families, females who reported having a close
relationship with their father during the initial
interview were less likely to report having engaged
in sexual intercourse during a follow-up interview
one year later, compared to similar females who
did not report having a close relationship with their
father.4

Abstinence. Adolescents whose parents discuss

what is right and wrong in sexual behavior
are more likely to remain abstinent. Youths
whose parents talked to them about what is right
and wrong in sexual behavior were significantly
more likely to remain abstinent than peers whose
parents did not.5

Sexual Activity and Number of Sexual Partners.

In spite of peers behavior, adolescents who
engage in discussions with their parents about
sex are less likely to be sexually active or have
fewer partners. Though perceiving that peers

Brief
were sexually active and having sexually active
friends increased the likelihood that an adolescent
would be sexually active and would have a greater
number of sexual partners, parent-adolescent
discussion about initiating sex decreased the
effects of perceived peer norms.6

Delayed Sexual Activity. Adolescent girls whose

mothers communicate with their friends
parents tend to become sexually active at a later
age. Among 14- and 15-year-old girls, mothers
involvement and conversation with their daughters
friends parents was linked to a delay in their
daughters becoming sexually active. Mothers
satisfaction with the mother-daughter relationship,
as well as mothers disapproval of sexual activity,
were also linked to delayed sexual activity for
teenage girls. 7

Sexual Risk Taking. Teens who are closely

monitored by their parents are less likely to
take risks regarding sexual behavior. Compared
with peers who were not closely monitored by
their parents (e.g., knowing where teens are after
school, knowing who teens are with), adolescents
who were closely monitored by their parents took
fewer risks in sexual behavior (i.e. had only one
partner and used condoms).8

Sexual Intercourse. Adolescents whose parents

set clear rules are less likely to have sexual
intercourse. Compared with teens age 13 to 17
whose parents did not set clear rules about sexual
activity, youth whose parents did set clear rules
were about one-half as likely to have had sexual
intercourse.9

Page 2

Initiation of Sexual Activity. Teens whose

parents set limits on their television viewing
or watch television with them are less likely to
initiate sexual activity. The more often parents
watched television with their teens and the more
they limited television viewingsuch as limiting the
amount, content, and checking to see what their
teen is watchingthe less likely adolescents were
to have sex.10
Endnotes
1 Patricia J. Dittus and James Jaccard, Adolescents Perceptions of
Maternal Disapproval of Sex: Relationship to Sexual Outcomes,
Journal of Adolescent Health 26, No. 4 (April 2000): 268-278.
2 Ibid.
3 Laura Fingerson, Do Mothers Opinions Matter in Teen Sexual
Activity? Journal of Family Issues 26, No. 7 (October 2005):
947-974.
4 Mark D. Regnerus and Laura B. Luchies, The Parent-Child
Relationship and Opportunities for Adolescents First Sex,
Journal of Family Issues 7, No. 2 (February 2006): 159-183.
5 Cherly B. Aspy, Sara K. Vesely, Roy F. Oman, Sharon Rodine,
LaDonna Marshall, and Ken McLeroy, Parental Communication
and Youth Sexual Behaviour, Journal of Adolescence 30, No. 7
(July/August 2007): 449-466.
6 Daniel J. Whitaker and Kim S. Miller, Parent-Adolescent Discussions
About Sex and Condoms: Impact on Peer Influences of Sexual Risk
Behavior, Journal of Adolescent Research 15, No. 2 (March 2000):
251-273.
7 Clea McNeely, Marcia L. Shew, Trisha Beuhring, Renee Sieving,
Brent C. Miller, and Robert William Blum, Mothers Influence on
the Timing of First Sex Among 14- and 15-Year Olds, Journal of
Adolescent Health 31, (September 2002): 256-265.
8 Angela J. Huebner and Laurie W. Howell, Examining the
Relationship Between Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking and
Perceptions of Monitoring, Communication, and Parenting Styles,
Journal of Adolescent Health 33, No. 2 (August 2003): 71-78.
9 Aspy, Parental Communication, 449-466.
10 Melina Bersamin, Michael Todd, Deborah A. Fisher, Douglas L.
Hill, Joel W. Grube, and Samantha Walker, Parenting Practices
and Adolescent Sexual Behavior: A Longitudinal Study, Journal of
Marriage and Family 70, No. 1 (February 2008): 97-112.

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