Parental Negotiation of Autonomy and Relatedness and Its Direct and Indirect Influences on Adolescent Sexual Behavior

Current research does not always place adolescent sexual behavior within its broader social developmental context. Identifying factors such as aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship that may be related to risky sexual behaviors may provide a better understanding of what facilitates healthy transitions to sexual activity. Previous research suggests that parental relationships can serve as models for expectations in peer relationships. Additionally, intimate peer relationships may serve as substitutes for unsatisfactory parent-adolescent relationships. Based on these tenets, it was hypothesized that adolescents who observed their parents modeling the capacity to assert themselves while remaining related to the adolescents during disagreements will be able to transfer these skills and expectations to the negotiation of contraceptive use with romantic partners and to the avoidance of multiple sexual partners. Additionally, it was predicted that adolescents whose parents undermine their adolescents' autonomy, especially within the context of negative parent-adolescent relationships, will seek independence in their peer relationships through sexual activity. It is expected that these adolescents will not be as prepared to protect themselves, and thus will be engaging in riskier sexual behaviors. The sample for the current study consisted of 137 moderately at-risk 9 th and 10 th grade adolescents and their parents, who participated in a revealed differences task and completed questionnaires at two time points, two years apart. Results indicated that female adolescents appeared to be at greater risk for engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse. Additionally, mothers' and fathers' displays of autonomy and relatedness as observed during disagreements have differential associations with male and female adolescents' management of Adolescent Sexual Behavior 3 their sexual behavior. As adolescents seek autonomy outside their families, they may do so in more deleterious ways in the absence of a supportive parental relationship. These findings suggest that parents may play an important role in the sexual socialization of their adolescents and may be useful targets for intervention and pregnancy prevention programs.