Parent or Friends? The Causation of Early Initiation on Sexual Intercourse: Evidence from Add Health

• In Event: 306 - Section on Sociology of Sexualities Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 17. Youth Sexualities

Abstract

Purpose: To better understand not only parental influence but also friends’ influence on the initiation of first sex for adolescents.
Method: Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), logistic regression analyses were used to assess to examine how parent-related variables and friends-related variables jointly predicted early initiation on sexual intercourse. In order to do so, matched dyads of mothers to their adolescent children were used, and participant’s questionnaires about their friends were evaluated to examine the impact of perceptions of friends on having sex.
Results: Nearly 16% of adolescents who reported to be virgin at Wave 1 experienced sexual debut in the 9-18 months between Waves 1 and 2. In analyses controlling for gender, family structure, and romantic relationships, the more actively parents are involved in their adolescents’ school life, less the odds of sexual debut. Relationships between parents’ variables and sexual initiation disappeared however once friends-related variables were controlled for. The odds were elevated among youth who believed that they would gain their friends respect by having sex.
Conclusion: Based on the variables in the model, perceived respect from friends has more influence on participants than parental involvement in their social situation/context. To maximize the likelihood of success in health promotion, programs focused on delaying teenage sexual intercourse should take into account interpersonal social influences from their friends in which contributes to adolescents’ social normative beliefs about early sexual debut.

Author

• Haena Lee, University of Chicago