Sisters' and Girlfriends' Sexual and Childbearing Behavior: Effects on Early Adolescent Girls' Sexual Outcomes

East, Patricia L.; Felice, Marianne E.; Morgan, Maria C.

doi:10.2307/352775

Cited by 69 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Research on automobile accidents indicates that the presence of same-aged passengers in a car driven by an adolescent driver significantly increases the risk of a serious accident (SimonsMorton, Lerner, & Springer, 2005). Adolescents are more likely to be sexually active when their peers are (DiBlasio & Benda, 1992;East, Felice, & Morgan, 1993;Udry, 1987) and when they believe that their friends are sexually active, whether or not their friends actually are (Babalola, 2004;Brooks-Gunn & Furstenberg, 1989;DiIorio et al, 2001;Prinstein, Meade, & Cohen, 2003). And statistics compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show quite compellingly that adolescents are far more likely than adults to commit crimes in groups than by themselves (Zimring, 1998).…”

Section: Peer Influences On Risk-takingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking

Steinberg¹

2008

Developmental Review

2,792

2,098

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This article proposes a framework for theory and research on risk-taking that is informed by developmental neuroscience. Two fundamental questions motivate this review. First, why does risktaking increase between childhood and adolescence? Second, why does risk-taking decline between adolescence and adulthood? Risk-taking increases between childhood and adolescence as a result of changes around the time of puberty in the brain's socio-emotional system leading to increased rewardseeking, especially in the presence of peers, fueled mainly by a dramatic remodeling of the brain's dopaminergic system. Risk-taking declines between adolescence and adulthood because of changes in the brain's cognitive control system -changes which improve individuals' capacity for selfregulation. These changes occur across adolescence and young adulthood and are seen in structural and functional changes within the prefrontal cortex and its connections to other brain regions. The differing timetables of these changes make mid-adolescence a time of heightened vulnerability to risky and reckless behavior.

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Section: Peer Influences On Risk-takingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking

Steinberg¹

2008

Developmental Review

2,792

2,098

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“…Teenagers whose mothers initiated sex and childbearing at younger ages are more likely to have sex (Kowaleski-Jones & Mott, 1998) and to experience early sexual debut (Ku, Sonenstein, & Pleck, 1993a). Moreover, the presence of older sexually active siblings, especially teenage sisters who are pregnant or parenting, is related to younger siblings' sexual experience, earlier fi rst intercourse, and pregnancy risk (East, Felice, & Morgan, 1993;Widmer, 1997). Th ese associations could refl ect modeling eff ects but may also be genetically mediated through early timing of puberty (Newcomer & Udry, 1984).…”

Section: Family Infl Uencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Associations between close friends' sexual behavior are well documented (East, Felice & Morgan, 1993;Rodgers & Rowe, 1990;. Although these patterns could indicate a peer socialization eff ect, selection may also play a role, if adolescents choose friends who are like themselves in attitudes and behavior (Bauman & Ennett, 1996;Billy, Rodgers, & Udry, 1984).…”

Section: Peer Infl Uencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescent Sexuality: Behavior and Meaning

Crockett¹,

Raffaelli

Moilanen

2006

Blackwell Handbook of Adolescence

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“…The sisters of teenage mothers have also been shown to be younger at first pregnancy (Cox et al, 1993), younger at sexual onset (Hogan & Kitagawa, 1985), and more likely to have had sexual intercourse during early adolescence (East, 1996b;East, Felice, & Morgan, 1993) than girls of comparable race and socioeconomic status.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The younger siblings of teenage mothers: A follow-up of their pregnancy risk.

East¹,

Jacobson²

2001

Developmental Psychology

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This study followed 243 younger brothers and younger sisters of parenting teens and nonparenting teens across a 1.5-year period. The average age of siblings was 13.6 years at Time 1 and 15 years at Time 2. Relative to other youths, the sisters of parenting teens exhibited a sharp increase in drug and alcohol use and partying behavior across time and had the highest pregnancy rate at Time 2 (15%). The siblings of parenting teens spent 10 hr a week caring for their sisters' children, and, for girls, many hours of child care was associated with negative outcomes including permissive sexual behavior. Findings suggest that the younger sisters of parenting teens are at very high risk of early pregnancy and that this risk becomes increasingly pronounced across time.Numerous reports have documented that the sisters of teenage mothers have adolescent childbearing rates 2 to 6 times higher than women in the general population depending on the comparison group used (Cox, Emans, & Bithoney, 1993;Friede et al., 1986;Hogan & Kitagawa, 1985; reviewed in East & Felice, 1992). The sisters of teenage mothers have also been shown to be younger at first pregnancy (Cox et al., 1993), younger at sexual onset (Hogan & Kitagawa, 1985), and more likely to have had sexual intercourse during early adolescence (East, 1996b;East, Felice, & Morgan, 1993) than girls of comparable race and socioeconomic status.Although these studies clearly point to an increased pregnancy risk among the sisters of childbearing teens, they do not address at what point in development these sisters begin to show an increased vulnerability to early pregnancy and which behaviors emerge as indicative of high pregnancy risk. In addition, very little attention has been paid to the likelihood of the brothers of teenage mothers causing a pregnancy during adolescence. Are brothers of teenage mothers more likely to father a child as a teen than other boys their same age, race, and socioeconomic status? If so, at what age is this likelihood apparent and which specific behaviors emerge as risk factors for teen fatherhood for boys? Previous research has also not addressed whether the sisters of childbearing teens are at higher risk for adolescent parenthood than the brothers of childbearing teens. Girls may be more strongly and more negatively affected by a sister's teenage pregnancy than boys because of stronger withingender modeling and identification processes (Bandura, 1977;Bank & Kahn, 1982). For example, compared with boys, girls would be more likely to identify with their sister's role as mother. Girls may also feel more competitive and jealous of a childbearing sister because the sister has done something that they are also presumably capable of but have not yet done (East, 1996a;East & Shi, 1997). This competitiveness may incite the sisters of childbearing NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript teens to also have a baby, whereas it may not be present for or relevant to the brothers of childbearing teens.The current study a...

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Sisters' and Girlfriends' Sexual and Childbearing Behavior: Effects on Early Adolescent Girls' Sexual Outcomes

Cited by 69 publications

References 29 publications

A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking

A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking

Adolescent Sexuality: Behavior and Meaning

The younger siblings of teenage mothers: A follow-up of their pregnancy risk.

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