Family Facts: Social Science Research on Family, Society & Religion

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This finding looks at the relationship between family structure and teen sexuality.

Among a sample of adolescents that reported being virgins, family structure was related to the likelihood of engaging in sexual activity before the follow-up interview that took place around 11 months later. Nine percent of those living with both biological parents, sixteen percent of those living with a stepparent, and twenty-one percent of those living with a single parent reported engaging in sexual intercourse for the first time between the two interviews. After controlling for parenting practices, neighborhood characteristics, family income, and other background variables, adolescents in single-parent families were roughly 80 percent more likely to engage in sexual intercourse between interviews than adolescents living with two biological parents. Similar results were observed for adolescents living in stepparent families, who were roughly 30 percent more likely to engage in sexual intercourse than adolescents living with two biological parents. This latter difference, however, was not statistically significant.

Sample or Data Description
Data came from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The final sample consisted of 2,559 white, African American, and Latino adolescents who lived with at least one parent, were in the seventh or eighth grade at the time of the first interview, and reported never having had sexual intercourse at the first interview.

Source
"Parenting influences on early sex initiation among adolescents: How neighborhood matters."
Roche, K. M.
Mekos, D., Alexander, C. S., Astone, N. M., Bandeen-Roche, K., & Ensminger, M. E.
Journal of Family Issues Vol. 26, Number 1. , 2005. Page(s) 32-54.

FindingID: 8130