Parent-adolescent communication about sex and birth control involves complex dynamics. To facilitate the exposition of our framework, we restrict our initial analysis to the simple case of dyadic interaction between one parent and one child where the parent consciously attempts to communicate information about sex or birth control to the child. We then use this situation as a basis for elucidating the dynamics of more complex scenarios, such as the communication of multiple messages by multiple parents and cases where information is exchanged reciprocally between parent and child.Classic conceptualizations of communication distinguish five components in the communication process: the source of a communication, the communication itself (often referred to as the message), the medium or

Cross-sectional research suggests that peer influence has a moderate to strong impact on adolescent risk behavior. Such estimates may be inflated owing to third-variable confounds representing either friendship selection effects or the operation of parallel events. Approximately 1,700 peer dyads in Grades 7 to 11 were studied over a 1-year period to estimate the influence of closest friends on sexual activity and binge drinking. Analyses suggested that peer influence was small but reliable when both selection effects and parallel events were taken into account. Peer influence varied as a function of individual-peer similarity and maternal relations but not in accord with other theoretical predictions. It is suggested that the magnitude of peer effects in previous research may be overestimated in many contexts.

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Background-A review of the literature was conducted to examine the relationship between the use of anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use and the use of other drugs.

Research published in the past decade implies a positive relationship between physical activity and alcohol use. Findings have important implications for the design of health promotion programs targeting physical activity and alcohol use.

The present study explores 2 key variables in social metacognition: perceived intelligence and perceived levels of knowledge about a specific content domain. The former represents a judgment of one's knowledge at an abstract level, whereas the latter represents a judgment of one's knowledge in a specific content domain. Data from interviews of approximately 8,411 female adolescents from a national sample were analyzed in a 2-wave panel design with a year between assessments. Higher levels of perceived intelligence at Wave 1 were associated with a lower probability of the occurrence of a pregnancy over the ensuing year independent of actual IQ, self-esteem, and academic aspirations. Higher levels of perceived knowledge about the accurate use of birth control were associated with a higher probability of the occurrence of a pregnancy independent of actual knowledge about accurate use, perceived intelligence, self-esteem, and academic aspirations.