Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 24, 2026

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
Family Structure, Maternal Dating, and Sexual Debut: Extending the Conceptualization of Instability
Rena Cornell Zito1, Stacy De Coster2
1Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Elon University, 2035 Campus Box, Elon, NC, 27244, USA. rzito@elon.edu.
Abstract:
Family structure influences the risk of early onset of sexual intercourse. This study proposes that the family structures associated with risk-single-mother, step-parent, and cohabiting-influence early sexual debut due to family instability, including shifts in family structure and maternal dating, which can undermine parental control and transmit messages about the acceptability of nonmarital sex. Previous research has not considered maternal dating as a component of family instability, assuming single mothers who date and those who do not date experience comparable levels of family disruption and transmit similar messages about the acceptability of nonmarital sex. Hypotheses are assessed using logistic regression models predicting the odds of early onset of sexual intercourse among 9959 respondents (53 % female, 47 % male) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Respondents were ages 12-17 at the first wave of data collection and 18-26 at the third wave, when respondents reported the age at which they first had sexual intercourse. Results show that maternal dating is a source of family instability with repercussions for early sexual debut. Parental control and permissive attitudes towards teenage sex and pregnancy link at-risk family structures and maternal dating to early sexual initiation among females, though these variables do not fully explain family structure and maternal dating effects. Among males, the influence of maternal dating on early sexual debut is fully explained by the learning of permissive sexual attitudes.
More Related Videos
05:04A Common Marmoset Model of Mother-Infant Intervention for Breastfeeding Disorders in the Presence of Paternal Inhibition and Maternal Neglect
Published on: September 22, 2023
04:20Author Spotlight: Exploring Microglial Interactions with Stress-Response Circuitry Using the Limited Bedding and Nesting Model
Published on: July 12, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Relationship with Other Adult Family Members and Siblings
Psychosexual Theory of Development
The Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
Freud's psychosexual...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Genital
Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Phallic
Relationship Formation