4. Protective Effects of Parental Monitoring Knowledge and Enforcement of Rules on Adolescent Sexual Behavior: A Meta-Analysis

Stronger Working Memory Reduces Sexual Risk Taking in Adolescents, Even After Controlling for Parental Influences

“…Instead, its effect appears to have been primarily produced by parental restrictions on adolescent behavior. Other prospective research has supported the efficacy of this parental strategy in reducing adolescent sexual risk behaviors (Dittus, Michael, Becasen, Gloppen, & Guilamo‐Ramos, ). However, our findings suggest that parental monitoring is ultimately less protective than maintaining ongoing parental involvement because involvement is associated with greater adolescent self‐control, in particular, less AWT, which can have a more pervasive influence on risk taking outside of the direct purview of parents.…”

Childhood ADHD and Involvement in Early Pregnancy: Mechanisms of Risk

“…There is also substantial evidence that the quality of parenting may be particularly influential in the occurrence of early pregnancy for young people more broadly. Poor parental monitoring has been shown to predict early sexual activity, more partners, and less condom/contraceptive use in adolescents (Dittus, Michael, Becasen, Gloppen, & Guilamo-Ramos, 2013; Kincaid, Jones, Sterrett, & McKee, 2012; Wight, Williamson, & Henderson, 2006). Furthermore, parental warmth, involvement, and supportive parenting have also emerged as variables influential in the prediction of adolescent risky behavior and pregnancy (Kincaid et al, 2012; Scaramella et al, 1998; Simons, Sutton, Simons, Gibbons, & Murray, 2016).…”

The Role of Moral Worldviews in Predicting Sexual Behavior From Adolescence to Emerging Adulthood

“…Extant research suggests that many factors influence sexual behavior over time, including age (for a review, see Zimmer-Gembeck & Helfand, 2008), alcohol use (e.g., Dogan, Stockdale, Widaman, & Conger, 2010; Tapert, Aarons, Sedlar, & Brown, 2001; Wells, Horwood, & Fergusson, 2004), religious service attendance (Rostosky et al, 2004), having a parental figure in the home (for review on parental monitoring and adolescent sexual behavior, see Dittus et al, 2013), and peer networks (for reviews, see Kotchik et al, 2001; Zimmer-Gembeck & Helfand, 2008). These are likely correlated with moral worldviews, suggesting that we must control for their influence to accurately estimate the relationship between worldview and sexual behavior.…”

“…Any attempt to explain sexual behavior across adolescence and emerging adulthood in terms of moral worldviews, however, must grapple with the possibility that worldviews might simply be “standing in” for other external factors that are actually causing changes in sexual behavior. For instance, teens and emerging adults who live at home might engage in less sexual activity regardless of their level of moral worldview due to more vigilant parental monitoring (for review on parental monitoring and adolescent sexual behavior, see Arnett, 2004; Dittus, Michael, Becasen, Gloppen, & Guilamo-Ramos, 2013; Regnerus, 2007). In addition, orthodox moral worldviews are often tied to religious involvement, which offers many alternative mechanisms for shaping behavior including structured activities and connections to other religious teens and adults that can generate social pressure to conform to sexual norms (for review, see Rostosky et al, 2004).…”