This dissertation provides insight into sexual trajectories and its correlates, associations between parenting and a broad range of sexual health aspects, and possible mediation of the link between parental support and sexual behavior by parental knowledge of the child's whereabouts or adolescents' romantic involvement.
Sexual trajectory
Most Dutch adolescents progress from less sexually intimdate (e.g. kissing) to more sexually intimate behavior (e.g., intercourse). About one quarter of Dutch adolescents, however, follow a nonlinear trajectory, having either more sexually intimate experiences before less sexually intimate experiences or having all new sexual experiences within a single year. This trajectory correlates with more sexual risk.
Parental support
Parents can increase the likelihood that adolescents gain the competencies that are essential for having a progressive trajectory and safe and pleasurable sexual experiences. Parental knowledge of the child's whereabouts holds beneficial associations with the use of contraceptives, social skills in sexual interactions, and sexual satisfaction. Parental support is an important tool in gaining this knowledge. In addition, low levels of family cohesion result in earlier romantic involvement for girls and consequently in an earlier sexual debut, which is associated with more sexual risks.
Author: H. de Graaf
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