Interaction Among Attachment, Gender, and Risk Taking Impacts Sexual Activity in Adolescence

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Sex, Gender

Abstract

Adolescence is widely acknowledged as a period associated with greater risk taking such as substance use and sexual risk taking, and those who engage in one type of risk behavior are likely to engage in other types of risk behaviors as well (Tapert et al., 2001). Parents, peers, and romantic partners are three crucial social agents who modulate adolescent risk-taking behaviors and sexual activity (e.g., Parkes et al., 2011). Additionally, relationship attachment has been shown to be more important to females in predicting risky behavior, as adolescent girls are more sensitive to the quality of their social relationships (e.g., Rose & Rudolph, 2011). However, it is unknown whether these relationships buffer the correlation between risk taking and sexual activity. The goal of our study was to investigate how relationship quality as measured by attachment to parents, peers, and romantic partners may moderate the link between risk taking and adolescents’ likelihood to engage in relatively early sexual activity, as well as how this may differ by adolescents’ gender.
A sample of racially diverse adolescents completed questionnaires that assessed various attachments, risk taking, and likelihood to engage in sexual activity in the next year (N=145, 51% Female, Mage=14.69, SDage=0.58). 72 adolescents in our sample reported having been in a romantic relationship in the past year, and were able to be used for our romantic attachment analysis. The main effect of adolescent risk taking on sexual activity was significant (b =13.44, SE =2.03, t(128) =6.62, p <.05). Results showed a significant three-way interaction among risk taking, parental attachment, and gender (ΔR2=.07, t(121)=3.51, p=.001), as well as between general risk taking, peer attachment, and gender (ΔR2=.04, t(121)=2.79, p=.006). However, for romantic attachment, the three-way interaction was not significant (ΔR2=.03, t(64)=1.56, p=.124).
Findings indicate that for adolescent girls, high quality parental and peer relationships can ameliorate the relationship between risk taking and adolescent sexual activity. Additionally, parent and peer relationships appear to be more influential on buffering potential for sexual risk taking than romantic relationships, suggesting that parent and peer attachment may lead to healthier relationship choices for girls, even outside the context of their relationship. Finally, results suggest that in cases of high parental attachment for girls, relatively early sexual activity may be differentiated from other forms of risk taking. This may be due to greater relationship quality with parents and peers leading to more open communication around the subject of sex, and thus preventing maladaptive sexual behaviors.

Authors

• Lucy S. McClellan, Children’s National Hospital
  Presenting Author

• Seh-Joo Kwon, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author

• Eva H Telzer, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  Non-Presenting Author