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The Process and Content of Sexual Communication with Adolescents in Two-Parent Families: Associations with Sexual Risk-Taking Behavior

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Abstract

This study examined two aspects of sexual communication—process and content—between adolescents and both parents, as well as the relationship between parent–adolescent sexual communication and adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior. The participants were 332 adolescents whose biological parents were married and living together. Adolescents were between 14 and 16 years of age and self-identified as either Black or Hispanic. Correlational analyses indicate that the process and the content of sexual communication are significantly and positively correlated. In addition, both process and content of sexual communication are positively associated across parents. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that only mothers' sexual communication, both process and content, is related to adolescent risk-taking behavior for both male and female adolescents.

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Correspondence to Rex Forehand.

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Dutra, R., Miller, K.S. & Forehand, R. The Process and Content of Sexual Communication with Adolescents in Two-Parent Families: Associations with Sexual Risk-Taking Behavior. AIDS Behav 3, 59–66 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025419519668

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025419519668

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