Comparing White and Asian American Adolescentsa?? Perceived Parental Expectations and Their Sexual Behaviors:

摘要

While parental influences on adolescent health behaviors are well recognized, there is limited understanding of the relationship between adolescentsa?? perceptions of their parentsa?? expectations and their sexual behaviors. This mixed-methods study explored how White and Asian American adolescents perceive parental expectations via parenta??child interactions, and how such expectations relate to adolescentsa?? self-reported sexual activities over time. Using gender-matched, in-depth interviews with 28 White and Asian American adolescents, ages 17 to 19, we explored adolescentsa?? perceptions of parental expectations about when, how, and under what conditions adolescents should engage in sexual activity. Stronger conservative parental sexual expectations and disapproving parental attitudes were closely related to later sexual debut and fewer sexual partners. Perceived closeness determined the degree to which adolescents respected and incorporated their parentsa?? beliefs, values, and sexual expectations. Future research should focus on developing family strategies to utilize the concept of perceived parental expectations.