Kathleen Boyce Rodgers

Parenting Processes Related to Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors of Adolescent Males and Females.

In an attempt to extend the current body of relevant research the author examined which parenting behaviors are related to sexual risk taking among sexually active male and female adolescents. Parenting behaviors considered were communication about sexual issues support and psychological and behavioral controls. The extent of sexual risk taking was assessed through the use of a composite measure of the number of sex partners the consistency of contraceptive use and the effectiveness of contraceptive method used. The sample of 350 mainly White 9th-12th-grade students was drawn from a population of 2257 junior and high school students surveyed as part of a larger study conducted in 2 counties in a northern midwestern state of the US. All of the sampled teens reported having had sexual intercourse at least once with 56% having had sexual relations with only 1 person and 7% having had 5 or more sex partners. 56% reported always using contraception 12% reported occasional contraceptive use and 23% reported never or rarely using contraception. Parental communication about sexual matters and parental support were not directly associated with sexual risk taking but an interaction effect between parental support and communication was observed for sexually active males. However the significant effect of that interaction was due to the large proportion of high-risk sexually active males who discussed sexual issues with a parent they viewed as unsupportive. For females parental psychological control increased the odds that a sexually active daughter would take more sexual risks. Parental monitoring significantly decreased the odds that sexually active male and female adolescents would be high-risk takers.

Personal, family, and school factors related to adolescent academic performance: A comparison by family structure

ABSTRACT Compared to peers in intact families, adolescents in divorced families do not perform as well academically. Using an ecological framework, we ran hierarchical regressions to examine the effect of parental support and monitoring and school attachment on grade point average (GPA) in teens in intact (60%), single-divorced (20%), and blended (20%) families. In this study, 1925 students in grades 7 (45%), 9 (31%), and 11 (24%), with a mean age of 15 years completed a survey. The sample was mostly White (88%), with 11% African-American; 53% were female. We hypothesized that adolescents in divorced or remarried families would report less parental support and monitoring, and that school attachment would be more strongly associated with GPA for these adolescents. School attachment was important for teens in all families; but the effect was stronger for teens in step- or single-divorced families. Our findings have implications for parents, schools, parenting education, and youth programs.

Parental Knowledge and Its Sources Examining the Moderating Roles of Family Structure and Race

This study aims to examine patterns of parental knowledge and its sources (adolescent reports of disclosure, parental solicitation, and parental trust) among adolescents who differ as a function of family structure and race. Data are drawn from adolescents (N = 2,374, M = 14 years, SD = 1.68) participating in a school-based study. Adolescent disclosure is a stronger predictor of parental knowledge in single-parent families and stepfamilies and in European American families. Conversely, parental solicitation is more highly related to parental knowledge in original two-parent families and in African American families. These findings provide a first step in understanding the ways in which family structure and race may shape the acquisition of parental knowledge. Implications for future research and application are also discussed.

Adolescent Sexual Risk and Multiple Contexts : Interpersonal Violence, Parenting, and Poverty

In this study we estimated the combined effects of violence experiences, parenting processes, and community poverty on sexual onset, alcohol or other drug (AOD) use at last sex, multiple sex partners, and prior pregnancy in a sample of 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade adolescents (n = 7,891), and the subsample of sexually experienced adolescents (n = 2,108). Multilevel multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that having experienced any interpersonal violence, and low levels of perceived parental warmth and parental knowledge predicted sexual onset. Adult sexual abuse or peer sexual coercion increased the odds for AOD use at last sex and having multiple sexual partners. When demographic, violence experiences and parenting behaviors were accounted for, poverty was not associated with sexual onset, AOD use at last sex, or multiple sex partners. Results suggest prevention efforts to reduce teen dating violence may be especially important to diminish sexually risky behaviors among adolescents.

Sexual identity confusion and problem behaviors in adolescents : A risk and resilience approach

Abstract Sexual identity confusion can add to the stress of adolescence. We used gender development, identity formation, and risk/resilience theories to study factors that protect sexually confused youth from risks (e.g., suicidal thoughts, substance use, delinquency). This exploratory study was based on a large, representative sample: 2.4% (n = 299) of students were confused about their sexual identity. From the original sample, a random subsample (n = 278) reporting no sexual identity confusion was used as a comparison group. There were no significant differences between groups on demographic variables; the mean age was 14.5 years, and 61% of our sample was male. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) found that sexually confused youth reported more problem behaviors than non-confused youth, accounting for up to 30% of the variance (e.g., suicidal thoughts). Furthermore, students with more protective factors exhibited fewer externalizing behaviors (e.g., delinquency, substance use).

The Teen Assessment Project Community-Based Collaborative Research

At public universities across the nation, scholars are increasingly being called upon to address community needs while also meeting the expectation for rigorous and sound research. For the scholar unfamiliar with action-research, accomplishing these tasks may seem difficult if not impossible. The Teen Assessment Project (TAP) demonstrates how collaborative research can be a rewarding process for both researchers and community partners, while also advancing scholarship in the area of adolescent development. Meeting these dual goals requires building trust and cooperation at the community level, sensitivity to the idiosyncracies and politics of a particular community, and employing a research design that is perceived as valid and relevant to the community while also being consistent with sound scientific methods.

Rape Myth Acceptance, Efficacy, and Heterosexual Scripts in Men’s Magazines Factors Associated With Intentions to Sexually Coerce or Intervene

Sexual coercion has gained researchers’ attention as an underreported form of sexual abuse or harm. The percentage of male and female college students who reported engaging in sexual coercion was as high as 82% for verbally coercive behaviors over the course of a year. Guided by heterosexual scripting theory and the integrated model of behavioral prediction, we examine potential factors associated with college students’ intentions to sexually coerce or to intervene when friends plan to sexually coerce (bystander intention). Factors included young college students’ beliefs about rape myth acceptance, perceived norms, efficacy to reduce sexual-assault risk, and exposure to men’s and women’s magazines. As predicted, results indicate rape myth acceptance was positively associated with intentions to sexually coerce, and negatively associated with bystander intentions to intervene. Students’ efficacy to reduce sexual-assault risk was negatively associated with intentions to sexually coerce, and positively associated with bystander intentions. Exposure to the heterosexual scripts in men’s magazines, which connect sexual prowess to masculinity, was associated with intentions to sexually coerce. Exposure to magazines was not associated with bystander intentions to intervene. Overall, an understanding of the independent contribution of these factors toward sexual coercion and intervention has implications for dating violence prevention programming.

Motives, barriers, and ways of communicating in mother-daughter sexuality communication: a qualitative study of college women in Tanzania

Abstract In Tanzania, young women aged 15–24 are at high risk for HIV and nearly half (45%) of women experience pregnancy or childbirth before age 19. The HIV epidemic has motivated many parents to overcome cultural taboos and talk with their children about sexuality, but few studies in Tanzania have examined how young adults perceive these discussions. In-depth interviews with 31 Tanzanian college women (ages 18–25) reveal how they make sense of sexuality messages from mothers that are sometimes vague, admonishing and fear-based. Participants identified how mothers focused on the health, educational and social consequences of premarital sex and emphasised the avoidance of men as a strategy to maintain virginity. Mothers avoided providing specific information about safer-sex practices, or strategies to negotiate romantic relationships, sexual pressures or sexual desires. Findings offer insight into how relational and cultural contexts influence mothers’ sexual socialisation and can inform education and intervention approaches that consider the changing cultural landscape. Future qualitative research with mothers is recommended to develop programmes that are more responsive to mothers’ and daughters’ needs.

Sexual objectification in music videos and acceptance of potentially offensive sexual behaviors.

Little is known about how adolescent and college-aged women interpret music media or how their perceptions of music media are related to their acceptance of physical or nonphysical forms of sexual behavior by male peers. Adolescent and emerging adult women (n = 259) viewed and responded to randomly selected music videos. Results from MANCOVA indicate that viewers’ perceptions of women in music videos differed by age/social context and, after accounting for their perceptions of the videos’ entertainment value and realism, differed within the music video sets. College women were more likely than high-school-aged women to perceive women in music videos as attractive and powerful. Viewers were more likely to perceive women in music videos to be attractive when they also perceived them to be sexual objects but not when they perceived the women in music videos to be powerful. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that participants who accepted sexual objectification and who were entertained by the music videos were less likely to be offended by nonphysical potentially offensive sexual behaviors (POSB) such as dirty jokes or cat calls. Women who accepted sexual objectification of women and perceived the music videos to be realistic were less likely to be offended by physical POSB (e.g., being touched or grabbed, unwanted sexual advances). Results suggest that personal attitudes and finding music videos to be entertaining or realistic may together inform attitudes that normalize the acceptance of POSB.