Demographic Differences in Adolescents' Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors, Parent Communication About Sex, And School Sex Education‪.‬

Introduction Many studies have focused on the correlates of adolescent sexual behavior in order to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence the initiation of sexual behaviors. For instance, Jerman and Constantine (2010) found that demographic variables in combination with parental comfort with sexual communication as well as the knowledge parents held about sexual health issues strongly predicted the number of topics discussed between parent and child. As parents continue to be the primary source of knowledge about healthy sexual behaviors for their adolescents (Moore, Raymond, Mittelstaedt, & Tanner, 2002), the need remains to study the multiple variables related to sexual risk taking behaviors, especially since significant disparities in the amount of correct sexual knowledge held by parents were found (Gallegos, Villarruel, & Gomez, 2007). Also, the timing of sexual communication seems to matter considerably, with more favorable outcomes for teenagers and their families when such communication has happened before the onset of first sexual activity (Clawson & Reese-Weber, 2003).