Parental Marital Status Effects on Adolescent Sexual Behavior

Abstract

Data from a panel study of virgin adolescents first interviewed in junior high school confirm previous findings by others that parental marital status and its changes are related to initiation of coitus by young adolescents. 1405 out of an eligible 1923 adolescents in 4 junior high schools (73%) were interviewed and filled out a confidential questionnaire in their own homes. 2 years later in 1982 82% of the the original interviewees were reinterviewed. Compared to the experience of adolescents in stable households with 2 natural parents the state of being in a mother-only household predicts a higher probability of subsequent transition to coitus for girls. Only the disruption of the 2-parent household (i.e. in a marital separation) between interviews predicts transition to coitus for boys. Parental marital status has the same effects on other age-graded delinquencies (e.g. smoking drinking alcoholic beverages driving a car without the owners permission) that it has on initiation of coitus. Pre-existing differences in other dimensions e.g. mothers education age of mother are examined as well: only 2 predicted coital transition. This finding supports conceptualizing marital status effects on adolescent coitus as parental loss of control over the whole class of age-graded delinquencies rather than a specific sexual effect. The effect of a marital separation appears to begin at around age 10 for girls. Single-parent households being a growing phenomenon there is likely to be an effect on the incidence of adolescent pregnancy.