Mother-Adolescent Sexuality Communication in a Developmental Context
Open Access
- Author:
- Boone, Tanya Lyn
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 13, 2003
- Committee Members:
- Eva Sharon Lefkowitz, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Susan Mc Hale, Committee Member
Edward A Smith, Committee Member
J Douglas Coatsworth, Committee Member
Naomi S Altman, Committee Member - Keywords:
- adolescent
mother-adolescent communication
sexuality
identity development
individuation
sexual attitudes - Abstract:
- Due to current rates of adolescent sexual activity, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infection including HIV/AIDS, much attention has recently focused on strategies for reducing the incidence of these occurrences. This focus has resulted in examinations of mother-adolescent sexuality communication as a predictor of sexual attitudes and behaviors. Much of the research in this area, however, has relied on single reporter self-reports of sexuality communication, and has assumed a direct association between communication and adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviors. The current study was designed to examine mother-adolescent sexuality communication, and to place the association between such communication and the sexual attitudes and behaviors of adolescents in the context of adolescent individuation and identity development. Mothers and their 15 to 18 year old male and female adolescents participated in the study. Each mother-adolescent dyad engaged in a videotaped conversation about sexuality, and completed questionnaires. Mothers who demonstrated more receptivity had adolescents who perceived less vulnerability to AIDS and more barriers to condom use. In addition, adolescents who rated their mothers as more responsive during previous sexuality conversations reported less perceived vulnerability to AIDS and fewer positive expectations for the protective abilities of condoms. Adolescents of mothers who displayed more composure were more connected to their mothers, and those who rated their mothers as more receptive were both more connected to their mothers and felt more independent from their control. Adolescent connectedness to mother and independence from mother did not, however, relate to adolescent sexual attitudes, precluding the hypothesized mediation. Adolescents whose mothers were more responsive reported identity commitments in more domains. In turn, adolescents with more identity commitments perceived less vulnerability to AIDS and had fewer positive expectations for condom use, but adolescent identity commitment did not act as a mediator. Although the associations between mothers’ communication and adolescent sexual attitudes were in the direction opposite of that predicted, the relations that were found indicate that mothers’ communication does relate to adolescent sexual attitudes. Further, both adolescents’ reports and third-party evaluations of mothers’ communication were important predictors of adolescent sexual attitudes and should be included in future research in this area.