Abstract
Younger sisters of teenage parents have elevated rates of engaging in unprotected sex. This may result from changes in parenting behavior after a sibling becomes pregnant or impregnates a partner, and be particularly pronounced for girls seeking mental health treatment. The current study examines condom use over time in 211 African-American girls recruited from outpatient psychiatric clinics. Findings indicate that having a sibling with a teenage pregnancy history predicts less consistent condom use 2 years later. After accounting for earlier condom use and mental health problems, maternal monitoring moderates condom use such that for girls with a sibling with a pregnancy history, more vigilant maternal monitoring is associated with increased condom use, while for girls with no sibling pregnancy history, maternal monitoring is unrelated to adolescents’ condom use 2 years later. Findings suggest that targeted interventions to increase maternal monitoring of high-risk teens may be beneficial for girls with a sibling history of teenage pregnancy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1178-1187 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Child and Family Studies |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 1 2016 |
Keywords
- African Americans
- Maternal monitoring
- Psychiatric population
- Sexual risk
- Siblings
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Life-span and Life-course Studies