Parent–Adolescent Sexual Communication and Its Association With Adolescent Sexual Behaviors: A Nationally Representative Analysis in the Netherlands

Sexual communication is a principal means of transmitting sexual values, beliefs, expectations, and knowledge from parents to children. Although this area has received considerable research attention, more studies with representative samples are needed to assure that findings are reflective of populations of interest. A nationally representative sample of parent–adolescent dyads (N = 2,965; mean adolescent age = 13.8 years) in the Netherlands was employed to examine the frequency of parent–adolescent sexual communication and its association with adolescent sexual behaviors (defined as sexual initiation, condom use, and contraceptive pill use). Nine communication topics in the areas of anatomy, relationships and rights, and protection and contraception were examined. In all, 75%of parents reported having discussed at least one topic multiple times with their adolescents. Romantic relationships were discussed most frequently. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses indicated that parent–adolescent sexual communication on protection and contraception was positively associated with adolescent sexual initiation and contraceptive pill use but not condom use. This may reflect that adolescents, when they become sexually active, are more likely to discuss sexuality with their parents. Findings are interpreted within the context of Dutch culture, which is generally accepting of adolescent sexuality and characterized by open sexual communication.     

Parent Marital Quality and the Parent–Adolescent Relationship: Effects on Adolescent and Young Adult Health Outcomes

Although a number of studies examined the implications of marital disruption for adolescent well-being, few studied the implications of marital relationship quality on health outcomes for children in married-couple families. The present study examines how parent marital quality among intact families interacts with the quality of parent–adolescent relationships to predict physical health, mental health, and substance use in middle adolescence and early adulthood. The study uses data from the NLSY97 cohort, a nationally representative sample of adolescents who are being followed into adulthood. Predictors include the quality of the parent marital relationship, the quality of the parent–adolescent relationship, marital structure, and a number of contextual covariates and control variables. Combined parent marital quality and parent–adolescent relationship groups were developed using latent class analyses and were used to predict positive and negative health behaviors during the teen and early adult years. Results indicate that adolescents in families experiencing poor marital quality fared worse on physical health, mental health, and substance use outcomes. In addition, adolescents who reported poor relationships with at least one of their parents fared worse on outcomes. Adolescents whose parents have low-quality relationships and also have poor parent–adolescent relationships tended to fare least well across health measures. Adolescents whose parents have a high-quality relationship and who have a good parent–adolescent relationship with both parents consistently had the best outcomes. Overall, poor relationships consistently undermine mental health, physical health, and substance use. Family religious activities also consistently predict better health outcomes.     

Investigating the Victim Pseudomaturity Effect: How a Victim’s Chronological Age and Dress Style Influences Attributions in a Depicted Case of Child Sexual Assault

Three-hundred and seven members of the UK public read a hypothetical child sexual abuse case in which the victim’s chronological age (12 versus 15 years old) and dress style (sexualized versus nonsexualized) were experimentally manipulated before completing 22 assault severity and blame attribution items. It was predicted that the 15-year-old and the sexually dressed victim would be blamed more for her own abuse. In addition, males were expected to be more blaming generally, but especially of the older and/or sexually dressed victim. Results were generally in line with predictions, highlighting the role seemingly controllable victim characteristics play in blaming child sexual abuse victims. Findings are discussed in relation to defensive attributions, gender stereotyping and the newly suggested victim pseudomaturity effect. Criminal justice, victim welfare, and rape myth implications together with methodological issues and ideas for future research work are also considered.     

The Clinical Relevance of Divergence in Adolescent–Parent Reports of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety

This study examines associations between adolescent problem behaviors and adolescent–parent disagreement in ratings of adolescent depression and anxiety symptoms. Adolescent–parent dyads (N?=?463; mean age?=?12.68 years; 48.5% female; 78.2% White and 21.8% non-White) reported on adolescent depression and anxiety using parallel scales from the Youth Self Report (Achenbach et al., J Emot Behav Disord 10:194–203, 2002) and the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach and Rescorla, The manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles, University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families, Burlington, 2001) across four waves. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the relationship between discrepancy scores and adolescent behavioral outcomes: incidence of adolescent past-year substance use (alcohol use, binge drinking, marijuana use, and nonmedical use of controlled medications), delinquency, self-harm behavior, and aggression. Findings showed that larger adolescent–parent divergence scores of depression were associated with higher odds of marijuana use, non-medical use of controlled medications, alcohol use, binge drinking, in-school delinquency, illegal behavior, self-harm behavior, and clinically significant levels of aggressive behavior. Results further revealed that larger divergence scores on anxiety were associated with higher odds of in-school delinquency, illegal behavior, self-harm behavior, and clinically significant levels of aggressive behavior. Adolescent–parent reporting discrepancy on adolescent’s depression and anxiety symptoms may be indicative of adolescent’s social, emotional, and behavioral problems, and the disagreement may signal further need for assessment of the adolescent.     

Parent Marital Quality and the Parent–Adolescent Relationship: Effects on Sexual Activity among Adolescents and Youth

The link between growing up outside of an intact family and the likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors as an adolescent has been explored extensively. However, fewer studies examined the likelihood of risky sexual behaviors among adolescents within intact families and what elements of those married-parent families seem to function as protective factors for adolescents. This study looks at relationships within married-parent families—that is, the parent marital relationship, the youth–parent relationship, and the interaction of the two—to identify potential sources of resilience for adolescents that influence their sexual activity. Overall, the youths' relationship with their parents matters more than the parents' relationship with each other, particularly for male youth and youth in stepparent families. Other covariates with notable influence on youths' risky sexual behaviors include parents' marital disruption and religious activity during the teen years. Analyses are based on data from the NLSY97 cohort.     

Longitudinal Effects of Adolescent Abuse on Relationship Quality and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Mother–Adolescent Dyads

The current study examined dyadic reports of mother–adolescent relationship quality (RQ) as a mechanism by which emotional, physical, and sexual abuse affect posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) over time from a family systems perspective. We used three waves of data from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), including 321 mother–adolescent dyads observed when adolescents were approximately 12, 14, and 16 years old. We used an extended version of the actor–partner interdependence mediation model to analyze the effect of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse on adolescents' PTSS through dyadic reports of mother–adolescent RQ. Results yielded significant indirect effects between sexual and emotional abuse, but not physical abuse, and PTSS 4 years later through adolescent perceptions of RQ. Maternal perceptions of RQ were not directly associated with adolescents' PTSS; however, maternal perceptions of RQ positively contributed to future adolescent perceptions of RQ. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Child Sexual Abusers’ Views on Treatment: A Study of Convicted and Imprisoned Adult Male Offenders

In spite of an increasing focus on the assessment and treatment of sexual offenders over the past two decades, much debate persists as to the effectiveness of treatment in reducing recidivism. Given the dearth of research on offenders' perspectives in this area and the potential for offenders' views to inform the development of effective treatment, we consider the views of 35 adult male child sexual abusers on the prison treatment program. Focusing on a number of key themes, namely victim empathy, strategies for desistence, group or individual treatment, motivation, and postprogram support. In doing so, the extent to which this work furthers knowledge in this area and future research directions was considered.     

Correlates and Consequences of Parent–Teen Incongruence in Reports of Teens' Sexual Experience

Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, factors associated with incongruence between parents' and adolescents' reports of teens' sexual experience were investigated, and the consequences of inaccurate parental knowledge for adolescents' subsequent sexual behaviors were explored. Most parents of virgins accurately reported teens' lack of experience, but most parents of teens who had had sex provided inaccurate reports. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that many adolescent-, parent-, and family-level factors predicted the accuracy of parents' reports. Parents' accurate knowledge of their teens' sexual experience was not found to be consistently beneficial for teens' subsequent sexual outcomes. Rather, parents' expectations about teens' sexual experience created a self-fulfilling prophecy, with teens' subsequent sexual outcomes conforming to parents' expectations. These findings suggest that research on parent–teen communication about sex needs to consider the expectations being expressed, as well as the information being exchanged.     

Parent Marital Quality and the Parent–Adolescent Relationship: Profiles of Relationship Quality

Rigorous studies repeatedly have demonstrated the negative effects of parental divorce on outcomes for families. However, very few studies have examined the quality of the marital relationship within intact families or how the quality of the marital relationship interacts with the quality of the parent–adolescent relationship. The present study examines how aspects of parent marital quality, such as marital support and conflict between the couple, existed within married families and examines how patterns of mother–adolescent and father–adolescent relationships quality varied longitudinally from 1997 to 1999. The study uses data from the NLSY97 cohort, a nationally representative sample of adolescents who are being followed into adulthood. Four profiles of parent marital quality were developed using latent class analyses. Four growth profiles for the mother–adolescent relationship and for the father–adolescent relationship were created using latent growth class analysis in Mplus. To examine how the parent marital quality profiles and the parent–adolescent relationship quality interact, we examined how they overlapped. Six distinct groups were evident from this examination: (1) high marital quality and good relationships with both parents, (2) high marital quality and a good relationship with only one parent, (3) high support and high conflict marital quality and a good relationship with at least one parent, (4) low marital quality and a good relationship with at least one parent, (5) high marital quality and bad relationships with both parents, and (6) low marital quality and bad relationships with both parents.     

Couples’ Sexual Communication and Dimensions of Sexual Function: A Meta-Analysis

Research and clinical data have shown that couples with sexual problems report a lack of sexual communication. However, no published meta-analyses have evaluated the relationship between sexual communication and sexual function. This meta-analysis examines the correlation between couples’ sexual communication and dimension of sexual function across 48 studies. Sexual communication was positively associated with sexual desire (r = .16), sexual arousal (r = .21), lubrication (r = .17), orgasm (r = .23), erectile function (r = .19), less pain (r = .12), and overall sexual function (r = .35). The effect sizes for sexual desire (r = .21; r = .12) and orgasm (r = .26; r = .16) were higher for women than for men. For overall sexual function, studies with married participants (r = .47) had a larger effect size than studies with participants with multiple relationship types (r = .31) or than studies with dating participants (r = .11). Effect sizes were larger for studies conducted outside of the United States (r = .39) compared to studies conducted in the United States (r = .12). We discuss the importance of addressing the relationship between sexual communication and sexual function, as well as future directions for research in this area.     

Mother–Adolescent and Father–Adolescent Relationships After Divorce: Relations with Emerging Adults’ Romantic Attachment

This longitudinal study examined relations between mother–child relationship quality and father support in adolescence (ages 15–19) and emerging adults’ (ages 24–28) romantic anxiety and avoidance in a sample that experienced parental divorce in childhood (n = 72). A significant interactive effect of mother–adolescent relationship quality and father support on romantic anxiety occurred. High levels of father support protected emerging adults from the negative effects of a low quality mother–adolescent relationship. These results highlight the importance of examining effects of one parental relationship in the context of the other and the role that nonresidential fathers play in influencing their offspring’s romantic attachment.     

Sexual Minorities’ Gender Norm Conformity and Sexual Satisfaction: The Mediating Effects of Sexual Communication,Internalized Stigma,and Sexual Narcissism

Objective: Sexual satisfaction has implications for well-being and may be related to gender norms. This study was conducted to understand the relationship between U.S. sexual minority (SM) individuals’ gender norm conformity and levels of sexual satisfaction, as well as examining the following potential mediators: sexual communication, internalized stigma, and sexual narcissism. Methods and Results: A path analysis (N?=?142) revealed that, for SM individuals, higher conformity to feminine norms was related to lower sexual satisfaction through higher internalized stigma. In addition, higher conformity to feminine norms for SM individuals was positively associated with sexual narcissism. Conclusion: Implications related to sexual satisfaction for SM individuals are discussed.     

Risky Sexual Behavior Among Young Adult Latinas: Are Acculturation and Religiosity Protective?

A sexual health disparity exists among U.S. Latinas, who have rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that are more than double their peers. Previous research has identified acculturation and religiosity as key social determinants of sexual health, but such findings have been inconsistent, with some researchers identifying protective benefits and other researchers noting increased risk. The purpose of this study was to explain how intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity as well as acculturation predict risky sexual behavior using Structural Equation Modeling of a nationally representative sample of self-identified Latinas (N = 1,168) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Results indicated that intrinsic religiosity and acculturation assert protective effects while extrinsic religiosity increases risk. Recommendations for policy, intervention, and future research are offered.     

Effect of Normative Masculinity on Males’ Dysfunctional Sexual Beliefs,Sexual Attitudes,and Perceptions of Sexual Functioning

Male sexual dysfunction is a prevalent and distressing condition, which may be exacerbated by the sufferer's perceptions of masculinity and normative sexual behavior. This study sought to investigate the effect of social context on males’ beliefs regarding sexual behavior. The research examined the effect of male role modeling and masculine cues on males’ dysfunctional sexual beliefs, sexual attitudes, and self-perceptions of sexual functioning. A sample of 140 male participants, with a mean age of 29 years, was exposed to pictorial and verbal cues that presented different versions of male behavior across three conditions. Results indicated that males exposed to models and cues of traditional masculinity showed significantly increased levels of dysfunctional sexual beliefs and traditional sexual attitudes relative to males exposed to models of modern masculinity. Results also indicated that males exposed to traditional masculine stimuli reported lower levels of sexual inhibition due to fear of performance failure than males exposed to models of modern masculinity. The potential role of social context is discussed in the development and maintenance of male sexual dysfunction and its implications for treatment.     

Knowledge and Behavioral Impact of Adult Participation in Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: Evaluation of the Protecting God’s Children Program

ABSTRACT

This article presents findings from an evaluation of a popular adult training program (Protecting God’s Children) used in Catholic institutions, including schools, churches, and social service agencies. The study explores knowledge and behavior change based on pretest/posttest questionnaires administered to over 500 adults and follow-up questionnaires sent six months after the training. The participants in the training were compared to a control group of adults who did not participate in the program. The results indicate that participants arrive at the training with fairly high rates of preexisting knowledge but that the program increases knowledge across demographic groups. Follow-up surveys suggest that the new knowledge is retained over six months. The study indicates that the program is associated with an increase in participants talking to their own children about child sexual abuse. Participants also report sharing information with other adults and monitoring behavior around children more closely.     

Adult dyslexia and the ‘conundrum of failure’

While there is a wealth of literature about childhood dyslexia, adult dyslexia remains relatively undocumented, particularly from a lived perspective. This paper focuses on the ‘deficit perspective of failure’, as highlighted in current literature, which addresses issues confronting adults with dyslexia. Within this theme of failure a number of subtypes have been identified. This paper contextualises these subtypes around the perceptions of individuals involved in a tertiary course for adults with dyslexia. The paper demonstrates what the author has identified as a ‘conundrum of failure’ that has influenced the perceptions of many adults with dyslexia, including their life choices. Its prevalence in the literature and the lived experiences of the research subjects highlight the need for societal, institutional and attitudinal change.     

Exploring the Link Between Caregiver Affect and Adolescent Sexual Behavior: Does Neighborhood Disadvantage Matter?

In a sample of urban youth (N = 1,070), we examined the links between primary caregiver affect (i.e., warmth and hostility) and two measures of sexual behavior in adolescence - early sexual initiation and sex with multiple partners. We also examined the extent to which neighborhood disadvantage moderated associations between caregiver affect and adolescent sexual behavior. We found that caregiver hostility was positively associated with early sex and sex with multiple partners in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of disadvantage, but inversely associated with both sex outcomes in neighborhoods characterized by low levels of disadvantage. Caregiver warmth, on the other hand, was inversely associated with early sexual initiation and sex with multiple partners in all neighborhoods regardless of neighborhood disadvantage.     

Effect of Student Vulnerability on Perceptions of Teacher–Student Sexual Involvement

This study explored whether the vulnerability of an adolescent student affected perceptions of teacher sexual misconduct. Respondents (150 male and 150 female undergraduates) read scenarios depicting teacher sexual misconduct varied by respondent gender, gender dyad (male teacher–female student and female teacher–male student), and three levels of student vulnerability. The vulnerability of the student was found to have little impact on perceptions. On most variables, interactions emerged between respondent gender and gender dyad. Specifically, male respondents viewed the female teacher–male student dyad less negatively than the male teacher–female student dyad. Female respondents generally did not make distinctions based on gender dyad.     

Magazine Coverage of Child Sexual Abuse, 1992–2004

This article analyzes trends in the coverage of child sexual abuse in popular magazines since the early 1990s. The article employs systematic analysis to identify and analyze articles in four popular magazines. Articles are analyzed by subject, length, and publication. The results affirm established theories of newsworthiness related to the coverage of specific stories over time. However, interest in the subject waned in the past 10 years, with the brief and dramatic exception of coverage connected to the Catholic Church in 2002. The findings demonstrate systematic differences between the slants of the four magazines studied. The findings also suggest that child abuse professionals could improve the quality of coverage by agreeing to interviews in connection with articles about childhood sexual abuse.     

Examining the Quality of Adolescent–Parent Relationships Among Chilean Families

The purpose of this study was to examine if adolescents’ reports of warm and harsh parenting practices by their mothers and fathers varied as a function of demographic, youth and their mothers or mother figures’ individual and family characteristics. Data are from 707 community-dwelling adolescents (mean age = 14, SD = 1.4) and their mothers or mother figures in Santiago, Chile. Having a warmer relationship with both parents was inversely associated with the adolescents’ age and positively associated with adolescents’ family involvement and parental monitoring. Both mothers’ and fathers’ harsh parenting were positively associated with adolescent externalizing behaviors and being male and inversely associated with youth autonomy and family involvement. These findings suggest that net of adolescent developmental emancipation and adolescent behavioral problems, positive relationships with parents, especially fathers, may be nurtured through parental monitoring and creation of an interactive family environment, and can help to foster positive developmental outcomes.