Department of Psychology, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
J Youth Adolesc. 2011 Dec;40(12):1595-606. doi: 10.1007/s10964-011-9641-y. Epub 2011 Mar 8.
Early sexual behaviors during adolescence have the potential to lead to unhealthy outcomes. This study explored the association between specific dimensions of maternal relationship quality and adolescent sexual debut by age 15. We hypothesized that adolescents who have poor maternal relationships are at greater risk of early sexual debut than those who have a more supportive relationship. These hypotheses were examined using both adolescents' perception of their maternal relationship quality and observed relationship quality. A sample of 268 adolescents (142 girls; 90% European American) were followed longitudinally from age 13 to age 15. The results indicate that adolescents with sexual debut by age 15 report significantly worse relationships with their mothers compared with other adolescents. Furthermore, behavioral observations of lower maternal support and higher observed displays of externalizing affect towards the mother also were related to early sexual debut. The significance of maternal relationship quality remained after controlling for family structure, race, and socioeconomic status. These findings suggest that mothers have a significant role in the timing of their adolescents' sexual debut.
青少年早期的性行为有可能导致不健康的后果。本研究探讨了母亲关系质量的特定维度与青少年在 15 岁前的性初体验之间的关系。我们假设，与关系更融洽的青少年相比，与母亲关系不好的青少年更有可能较早开始性行为。这些假设通过青少年对其母爱的感知和观察到的关系质量进行了检验。从 13 岁到 15 岁，对 268 名青少年（142 名女孩；90%为欧洲裔美国人）进行了纵向跟踪研究。研究结果表明，与其他青少年相比，在 15 岁前有性初体验的青少年报告与母亲的关系明显更差。此外，对母亲的支持较低以及对母亲表现出更多外化情绪的行为观察，也与性初体验早有关。在控制家庭结构、种族和社会经济地位后，母亲关系质量的重要性仍然存在。这些发现表明，母亲在青少年性初体验的时间上起着重要作用。
