PARENT-ADOLESCENT RELATIONSHIPS AND ADOLESCENT SEXUALITY: CLOSENESS, COMMUNICATION, AND COMFORT AMONG DIVERSE U.S. ADOLESCENT SAMPLES

Abstract

This study examined the role of American adolescents' perceptions of both maternal and paternal parent-adolescent closeness, communication about sexuality, and comfort with sexual communication in a diverse sample of adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors. Participants included 672 adolescents (231 males, 413 females, 28 unreported) in the 9th to 12th grades of three public urban and suburban high schools, of varying socioeconomic status, approximately one third each of African-American, Caucasian, and Hispanic. Maternal variables significantly explained modest amounts of variance in sexual outcomes; paternal variables were less significant. Subgroup patterns revealed both similarities and uniqueness, in some groups explaining relatively large proportions of variance.