Family configuration and adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior

Several measures of family configuration, derived from the number, age, and sex of siblings and the number of parents, were related to adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior in a sample of 836 high school-aged teenagers from two Western states. Zero-order correlations showed that sexual intercourseexperience was less common among adolescents who lived with both parents and also among those who had younger siblings. Similarly, the zero-order correlations showed least permissiveattitudes among adolescents who had more siblings, especially younger siblings, and among those who lived with both parents. Controlling for adolescents' age, sex, race, religion, church attendance, and parents' educational attainment, however, essentially eliminated the relationships between family configuration variables and sexual attitudes and behavior. Only parents' marital structure, reflecting whether adolescents lived with both original parents or not, continued to be weakly related to adolescents' sexual attitudes and behvior.     

Partner involvement and contraceptive efficacy in premarital sexual relationships

This paper attempts to account for the strong, positive correlation between partner involvement and contraceptive behavior in premarital sexual relationships. Interpersonal and structural characteristics of partner involvement identified in previous research as possible explanatory variables were factor analyzed and three major dimensions were isolated: 1. affection and commitment, 2. sexual and contraceptive communication, and 3. predictability of intercourse. Partner involvement loaded highest on the affect factor. In a multiple regression analysis using composite (factor) scores, prior sex-related communication emerged as the strongest predictor of contraceptive behavior, followed by affection for partner; contrary to expectations, however, predictability of intercourse was not significantly related to contraceptive use.Funded by a grant from the Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne Research and Instructional Development Support Program.A version of this paper was presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association convention, Chicago, Illinois, May 3–5, 1984.Address requests for reprints to Judith K. Inazu, Dept. of Psychology, 2430 Campus Rd., University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822     

Financial capital and premarital sexual activity in Africa: The case of Zambia

This paper examines two theoretical perspectives on sexual behavior in Africa using the 1992 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey data on never-married adolescent females. The results offer more support to the rational adaption hypothesis which assumes that many young women may be entering into sexual relationships to obtain money and material goods they cannot get within the financial capital of their families. There are, however, indications that some adolescents are sexually active before marriage as a result of the breakdown of traditional social controls that elders had over the younger people. The way in which this assumption of the social disorganization theory can be further explained is examined under the conceptual model of social capital.     

The influence of parents’ marital dissolutions on children’s attitudes toward family formation

We investigate the influence of parents’ marital dissolutions on their children’s attitudes toward several dimensions of family formation. Hypotheses focus on the role of parents’ attitudes as a mechanism linking parents’ behavior to their children’s attitudes. We test these hypotheses using intergenerational panel data that include measures of parents’ attitudes taken directly from parents and measures of children’s attitudes taken directly from children. Results demonstrate strong effects of parental divorce, remarriage, and widowhood on children’s attitudes toward premarital sex, cohabitation, marriage. childbearing, and divorce. The results also show that parents’ own attitudes link their behavior to their children’s attitudes, although substantial effects of parental behavior remain after controlling for parents’ attitudes.     

The negligible influence of premarital cohabitation on marital fertility in current danish cohorts, 1975

This paper studies the influence of premarital cohabitation on marital fertility by applying life table methods to data for cohorts of Danish women born in 1926–1955, collected in retrospective interviews made in 1975. For each five-year cohort, the data have been analyzed by duration of marriage or by duration since previous birth, for women who had no reported births before marriage. Our main empirical results are: (a) that women who married at age 15–19 had higher rates of marital first and second births than those married at ages 20–24, and (b) that premarital cohabitation had very little influence on births of these two first orders in our data.     

The effect of movie portrayals on audience attitudes about nontraditional families and sexual orientation

This study examined the impact of motion pictures about the family on viewers' attitudes about family life and sexual orientation. Viewers were randomly assigned to view either Father of the Bride II (control group) or Object of My Affection (treatment group). Viewers' attitudes toward nontraditionalism and homosexuality were assessed before and after viewing their respective film. Treatment and control groups significantly differed in their attitudes toward nontraditionalism, but did not significantly differ in their attitudes toward homosexuals after viewing their respective films. However, the treatment group experienced more favorable attitudes toward homosexuals than the control group after viewing the film. Gender differences were also observed. Men were less tolerant of homosexuals and held fewer nontraditional beliefs about the family than women. Implications and discussion follow.     

The relationships among sexual beliefs, attitudes, experience, and homophobia

Male and female subjects were given a series of questionnaires to assess their attitudes, behaviors, and experiences in relation to homosexuality. The findings indicated the presence of two systems, one dealing with affective orientation and the other with general beliefs (learned problem or physiological problem) about the origins of homosexuality. It was found that the greatest dislike toward homosexuals existed in those subjects who responded with negative affect and believed that homosexuality was a learned problem. Avoidance of social situations where homosexuals are present was evidenced in subjects who responded with negative affect and believed homosexuality was due to genetic factors.     

The influence of sexual orientation on career decision-making: a research note

This study investigates differences between heterosexuals and homosexuals of both sexes with regard to several variables in the career decision-making process: anxiety about making a career choice, indecisiveness about the choice, need to acquire information about the career of choice, uncertainty about the choice, and career choice dissatisfaction. Significant interactions are found on choice uncertainty (gay men having the highest level of uncertainty and lesbian women the lowest) and choice dissatisfaction (heterosexual women and gay men showing more dissatisfaction than the other two groups).     

Family configuration and adolescent sexual behavior

Adolescent sexuality data are used to examine the relationship between family configuration and premarital intercourse. In the context of analysis of covariates models, family and parent variables are defined to control for possible spurious influences, and the family configuration variables of interest are observed against a well-controlled background. Several apparent relationships are shown to be spurious when possible confounders are controlled. However, number of brothers is shown to have a significant relationship with intercourse behavior controlling for a wide range of covariates. Number of original parents is shown to have a marginal relationship. A theoretical framework for further investigation of the number of brothers effect is suggested, including a masculinization hypothesis, a friends-of-brothers hypothesis, and a role model hypothesis.     

The malleability of fertility-related attitudes and behavior in a filipino migrant sample

The malleability of fertility-related attitudes and behavior was studied by analyzing data collected from cross-sectional groups of Filipino migrants who had lived in the United States for varying lengths of time, in conjunction with data from a comparison group of Caucasians from the Filipinos’ neighborhoods. With increasing number of years lived in the United States, Filipino migrants’ fertility-related knowledge, attitudes, and desires became increasingly similar to those of the Caucasian group, but their contraceptive behavior did not. While approximately equal numbers of Filipinos and Caucasians were contracepting, Filipino couples regardless of duration of stay in the United States were using less effective methods with less regularity. Despite these contraceptive behavior patterns, Filipino migrants perceived that they would have 0.32 fewer children in the United States than they would have had had they remained in the Philippines. By far the most predominant reason given by Filipino respondents for changing fertility patterns in the United States was the difficulty of obtaining child care in the new environment.     

Adolescent sexual activity in the family context: The impact of older siblings

Using approximately 2,000 sibling pairs from the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience of Youth, we examine the influence of an older sibling's age at first sexual intercourse on the sexual initiation of a younger sibling. Hypotheses about differences by gender composition of the pair are tested, using a framework derived from social comparison theory and a two-stage failure-time model. Results provide evidence of a direct but modest-sized older sibling effect for white but not black youth. This effect is approximately equal in magnitude for same- and opposite-sex siblings. Little support is offered for the greater salience and association of sexual activity for brother-brother as compared with sister-sister pairs.     

The influence of the farm size on the parity of a farming family in Poland

This paper aims at statistical identification of the relationship between the parity of farming families and the area of the farm and the role this variable plays among variables describing the model of families' parity. To reach this objective results of a questionnaire survey were used, one performed among the group of individual farmers' families keeping agricultural accounting in 1985. The analysis covered 1291 rural farming couples who married in the years 1920-1984. According to the results obtained, the thesis posed by W. Stys with regard to positive relationships between parity in a family and the farm's area only relates to marriages entered into between 1920-1964. In single five-year marriage cohorts, a change of shape of this relationship was observed. It took the shape of a parabolic function or polynomial of the third order. The research results showed that in marriage cohorts with finished fertility, variable area of the farm turned out to be almost insignificant in explaining changes in the number of live born children compared to other demographic factors, especially cultural and demographic ones.     

Television viewing and adolescents' sexual behavior.

Over the past two decades the sexual content on television has increased in frequency and explicitness but has seldom included depiction of the use of contraceptives. Concurrently, the age of initiation of heterosexual intercourse has decreased and the number of teenaged pregnancies has remained high. Are these trends related? This survey of 391 adolescents found that those who chose heavier diets of sexy television shows were more likely than those who viewed a smaller proportion of sexual content on television to have had sexual intercourse. This relationship held regardless of perceived peer encouragement to engage in sex and across race and gender groups. While causal direction is not clear from these data, the relationship suggests that either sexual activity results in increased interest in sexual content in the media and/or that viewing such content leads to sexual activity. In either case, the finding points to the need for further research and increased discussion and portrayal of the use of contraceptives on television.     

The influence of income on family fertility in the light of the results of empirical studies

Based on data from the 1973-83 Polish Family Budget Survey, this study examines the influence of income as a source of maintenance and income as a determinant of childbearing on family parity. It is assumed that income influences parity as a source of maintenance and as an influence on lifestyle or reproductive behavior. As a source of maintenance, the influence will be positive. As a life-style factor, it could be positive or negative. The hypotheses are 1) that positive influences are characteristics of older couples with a lower educational level and living in villages and small towns and income is a source of maintenance, and 2) a negative influence on parity reflects younger couples with higher educational levels from larger cities and income is a life-style factor. Some examples of how the theory of income influences total fertility are given in addition to a further elaboration of the theory. Other concepts introduced, as related to childbearing, are the value of goods and services with unchanged preferences and an increase in income, with preferences changing with income increases, with income preferences for nonprocreational and for procreational needs, and income as a factor influencing procreational needs and behavior. Correlation analysis is conducted for 33 subpopulations based on duration of marriage, educational level of the household, and size of residence. The results indicate that, in years 1973, 1975, and 1978 when income and parity are significant, the sign is positive. In 1980, there was a decrease in the number of subpopulations with a significant relationship, and in 3 subpopulations the results were negative. The 13 positive subpopulations were similar to those in the 1970s. In 1983, income explained an even smaller amount of parity. The subpopulations with a postive relationship usually have longer marriage durations, which suggest income as a source of maintenance. Negative results were among subpopulations with shorter marriage durations, which suggests life-style factor effects of income.     

人口素质的家庭影响因素分析

家庭是个体社会化的重要场所。家庭背景、家庭结构、家庭关系以及家庭教育等方面对人口素质有着不容忽视的影响 ,在当前家庭发生巨大变革的背景下 ,家庭变迁与人口素质呈动态关系 ,优化家庭因素对提高人口素质具有实践意义。     

Substance abuse treatment providers' explicit and implicit attitudes regarding sexual minorities

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals have been found to have elevated rates of substance use disorders when compared with heterosexuals. However, little is known about the challenges a sexual minority might face in presenting for substance use treatment. In this study, treatment providers' attitudes toward LGBT individuals were assessed among a sample of 46 substance abuse treatment counselors who provide publicly funded treatment. Participants completed both explicit measures of heterosexist bias and an implicit measure designed to assess for biases that exist at an automatic, uncontrolled level. Results indicate that treatment counselors' negative biases regarding LGBT individuals were stronger for heterosexual counselors and for those with few LGBT friends. However, biases among this sample were significantly less than in comparison samples. Findings were also related to a newly developed measure of cultural competence in working with LGBT substance users. Implications for provision of appropriate services and recommendations to treatment agencies are discussed.     

The influence of urine from asymptotic laboratory populations on sexual maturation in prairie deermice

Summary Male and female prairie deermice housed singly from weaning (21 days) until 40 days of age had urine from one of the following sources applied daily to their nostrils: sexually mature laboratory population males or females, and sexually mature breeder males or females from our laboratory colony. Other males and females were treated with water. Records were obtained of the weights of the tests, seminal vesicles and bacula of males and the ovaries and uteri of females at 40 days of age. The major results of this study were as follow: Female urine from sexually mature and inhibited population or isolated mice stimulated the development of the male reproductive organs significantly more than water or male urine. Male urine applied to young males did not differentially affect the weights of their reproductive organs compared with water and thus showed no inhibition effects. The reproductive organs of females treated with male urine did not differ significantly in weight from those of females treated with female urine. Females treated with water developed significantly larger uteri than those treated with urine from sexually mature population females (P≤0.02), inhibited population females (P<0.001) and inhibited population males (P<0.007).     

The influence of race, ethnicity, class, and sexual politics on lesbians' body image

Based on interviews conducted with eight lesbians, this paper explores how the intersection of gender, sexual identity, race, ethnicity, and class affect lesbians' feelings about their bodies. Their responses suggest that, while being female has a strong effect on lesbians' feelings about their bodies, issues of race, acculturation, and class also affect body image. Lesbian feminism and S/M politics also appear to play a significant role in lesbians' body image. These findings highlight the limitations of existing theories about body image and call for a more complex theory incorporating a more diverse range of experiences.     

Migration and the latino family: The union formation behavior of Puerto Rican women

This study examines the transition to first union among Puerto Rican women. I argue that understanding the behavior of mainland Puerto Ricans requires attention to family patterns in Puerto Rico and to the dynamics of migration between Puerto Rico and the United States. The study therefore is based on pooled data from comparable surveys undertaken in the two settings. These data allow for event history analyses that compare the union formation behavior of migrants with that of nonmigrants, and consider the role of migration in producing the observed union patterns. Multivariate models show that migrants are more likely than nonmigrants to form unions early and to enter informal unions. Additional analyses show that selective migration plays a role in producing this pattern. Overall the findings demonstrate the importance of using data from both origin and destination locales for understanding the behavior of migrant groups.     

Reassessing the link between premarital cohabitation and marital instability

Premarital cohabitation has been found to be positively correlated with the likelihood of marital dissolution in the United States. To reassess this link, I estimate proportional hazard models of marital dissolution for first marriages by using pooled data from the 1988, 1995, and 2002 surveys of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). These results suggest that the positive relationship between premarital cohabitation and marital instability has weakened for more recent birth and marriage cohorts. Using multiple marital outcomes for a person to account for one source of unobserved heterogeneity, panel models suggest that cohabitation is not selective of individuals with higher risk of marital dissolution and may be a stabilizing factor for higher-order marriages. Further research with more recent data is needed to assess whether these results are statistical artifacts caused by data weaknesses in the NSFG.