Daphne van de Bongardt1, Hanneke de Graaf2, Ellen Reitz3, Maja Deković3. 1. Utrecht Centre for Child and Adolescent Studies, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: D.vandeBongardt@uu.nl. 2. Rutgers WPF, Centre of Expertise on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 3. Utrecht Centre for Child and Adolescent Studies, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The present study investigated how parents and peers interact in promoting or delaying Dutch adolescents' sexual initiation and intention and focused specifically on parents as moderators of peer influence. METHODS: Using a longitudinal design, two waves of online questionnaire data were collected among 900 Dutch adolescents (M = 13.8 years at T1), who were sexually inexperienced at baseline. At T1, participants reported on three types of perceived sexual peer norms: friends' sexual behaviors (descriptive norms), friends' sexual attitudes (injunctive norms), and experienced peer pressure to have sex. They also rated two parenting aspects at T1: the general quality of their relationship with parents and the frequency of sexuality-specific communication with their parents. Six months later, the participants reported on their experience with different sexual behaviors ranging from naked touching or caressing to intercourse and their intention to have sex in the next school year. RESULTS: Relationship quality with parents was significantly associated with both outcomes, with a higher relationship quality predicting smaller odds of sexual initiation and less intention to have sex. Two significant interaction effects showed that frequent sexual communication with parents significantly reduced the effects of sexually active friends and experienced peer pressure on adolescents' intention to have sex. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that different types of sexual peer norms and both general and sexuality-specific parenting play an important role in the early stages of Dutch adolescents' sexual trajectories. Moreover, parent-adolescent communication about sexuality can function as a buffer for the sex-stimulating effects of sexual peer norms.
PURPOSE: The present study investigated how parents and peers interact in promoting or delaying Dutch adolescents' sexual initiation and intention and focused specifically on parents as moderators of peer influence. METHODS: Using a longitudinal design, two waves of online questionnaire data were collected among 900 Dutch adolescents (M = 13.8 years at T1), who were sexually inexperienced at baseline. At T1, participants reported on three types of perceived sexual peer norms: friends' sexual behaviors (descriptive norms), friends' sexual attitudes (injunctive norms), and experienced peer pressure to have sex. They also rated two parenting aspects at T1: the general quality of their relationship with parents and the frequency of sexuality-specific communication with their parents. Six months later, the participants reported on their experience with different sexual behaviors ranging from naked touching or caressing to intercourse and their intention to have sex in the next school year. RESULTS: Relationship quality with parents was significantly associated with both outcomes, with a higher relationship quality predicting smaller odds of sexual initiation and less intention to have sex. Two significant interaction effects showed that frequent sexual communication with parents significantly reduced the effects of sexually active friends and experienced peer pressure on adolescents' intention to have sex. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that different types of sexual peer norms and both general and sexuality-specific parenting play an important role in the early stages of Dutch adolescents' sexual trajectories. Moreover, parent-adolescent communication about sexuality can function as a buffer for the sex-stimulating effects of sexual peer norms.
Authors: Raquel Nogueira Avelar E Silva; Anne Wijtzes; Daphne van de Bongardt; Petra van de Looij-Jansen; Rienke Bannink; Hein Raat Journal: PLoS One Date: 2016-08-11 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Sarah R Black; Ilana Seager; Molly R Meers; L Eugene Arnold; Boris Birmaher; Robert L Findling; Sarah M Horwitz; Eric A Youngstrom; Mary A Fristad Journal: J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol Date: 2018-10-30