Sexual Passion in Adolescence: Examining Its Transmission Through Mothers

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sexual passion is an important element of adult romantic relationships, but little is known about how it is developed or expressed during adolescence. From a Self Determination Theory perspective, this study explored the connections between parents’ sexual passion and children’s sexual passion, and whether these links were mediated by parents’ communication about sexuality with their children. Using a diverse sample of 484 mother-adolescent dyads (Mage = 14.48, SD = 1.68, 50% female, 56% White), we specified a path model in a Structural Equation Modeling framework to test hypothesized associations. Results indicated that all three types of parent sexual passion – harmonious, obsessive, and inhibited – were positively associated with children’s sexual passion in the same domains. Additionally, the frequency of parent-child sexual communication partially mediated the transmission of harmonious passion, whereas controlling parent-child sexual communication partially mediated the transmission of obsessive passion. These findings highlight the importance of parents’ sexual relationships in the sexual socialization and development of adolescents. Additionally, helping parents to have more frequent conversations about sex with their children could help facilitate the transmission of harmonious sexual passion.