More involvement = less action:

how mothers can influence their teenagers' sexual activity

From M, winter 2003

Teenagers are less likely to start having sex if their mothers are involved in their lives, have a close relationship with them, and stress the importance of education, according to new findings from the largest survey ever conducted with adolescents in the United States. The results were most consistent among younger teens in the eighth and ninth grades.

Robert Blum, professor and director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Adolescent Health and Development Program, was principal investigator in the study.

Delaying teen sex: what works?

• For younger teens and older teenage boys, a strong sense of connectedness with their mother, in which they feel close to her and perceive that she is warm and caring, makes a difference. This effect was not seen among older teenage girls.
• At every age studied, girls whose mothers have higher levels of education are less likely to become sexually active. On the other hand, teens whose mothers are highly religious are no less likely than other teens to start having sex.
• Mothers who report that they frequently talk with the parents of their daughters' friends had daughters who were less likely to have initiated sex over the one-year study period. These findings did not hold true for boys.

Blum noted that the findings, like previous research, suggest that mothers have less influence on the timing of their sons' first sexual intercourse than their daughters'. For adolescent boys, other social influences--such as those provided by fathers, siblings, or peers--may outweigh maternal influences on early sex.

Get more info on the University of Minnesota Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health at www.allaboutkids.umn.edu.