Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Relationship between Parenting Style and Sexual Risk-Taking among Adolescents

Anne K. Driscoll, University of California, Davis
Stephen T. Russell, University of California, Davis
Lisa J. Crockett, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Brandy A. Randall, North Dakota State University

Background Parenting practices such as supportiveness and control have emerged as important determinants of adolescent behavior in research with white and multi-ethnic samples. Moreover, there is evidence that the prevalence and effects of particular parenting practices differ across ethnic groups (Crockett & Russell, 1999; Steinberg, Lamborn, Darling, et al., 1994; Lamborn, Dornbusch, & Steinberg, 1996). However, the role of these parenting practices in specific ethnic/racial populations other than European Americans has rarely been examined. The focus of this study is to examine the moderating role of ethnicity/race in the relationship between parenting practices and adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior. Four types of parenting style have been identified: authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful (Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Authoritative parents combine high responsiveness (warmth and sensitivity to the child's needs) with high demandingness (setting firm expectations for behavior. Authoritative parenting is positively related to well-being in children and adolescents (Baumrind, 1991; Maccoby & Martin, 1983). In contrast, authoritarian parenting (low responsiveness plus high demandingness), indulgent parenting (high responsiveness and low demandingness), and neglectful parenting (low responsiveness and low demandingness) are typically associated with poorer behavioral outcomes. This study examines the role of parenting practices on the sexual behavior of adolescents across racial/ethnic groups. Specifically, the analyses address whether the effects of parenting style on teens’ sexual behavior varies by teens’ race/ethnicity. Methods Data This study utilizes waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Add Health is the most recent, comprehensive study of adolescents in the U.S. The sampling frame included all high schools in the US, as well as their largest feeder schools. More than 12,000 adolescents in grades 7 to 12 were participants in the nationally representative core of the in-home survey (Bearman, Jones, & Udry, 1997). The study sample consists of respondents who were 12-18 years old at the first interview (Time 1), identified themselves as white, African American, Latino or Asian, and completed a second interview (Time 2) approximately one year later Variables Sexual risk-taking. Sexual risk-taking is measured at Time 2 using a 4-point scale that combines sexual intercourse and contraceptive use. Teens who have not had sex are given a ‘1’, those who have had sex but consistently use contraception are rated ‘2’, the score of teens who inconsistently use contraception is ‘3’ and those who are sexually active but do not use contraception. Parenting style. Parenting style is captured using a variable that combines level of parental support and level of autonomy granted to teens by their parent(s). For each resident parent, adolescents responded to 5 items indexing the level of parental warmth and caring. These items were averaged to create a support scale for each parent. Adolescents were also asked if their parents let them make their own decisions about such issues as curfews, television and friends. These seven items were also averaged to create a measure of autonomy. Each measure was dichotomized in order to compare teens with high parental support to others and to compare teens with high autonomy to others. These dichotomized variables were then combined to create a four-category variable of parenting style. Teens who reported high autonomy and high support comprised one category, those with high autonomy but not high support comprise the second category, those with lower levels of autonomy but high support make up the third category and the final category consists of youth with lower levels of both autonomy and support. Parenting style is measured at Time 1. Race/ethnicity. Adolescents in the sample were divided into four exclusive categories based on their answers to detailed questions about their racial and ethnic background and identity. Four categories were constructed: non-Latino white, non-Latino African American, non-Latino Asian and Latino. Analyses The analyses test for differences in the associations between parenting style and sexual risk-taking across race/ethnicity. Multivariate OLS regression models with interactions between race/ethnicity and parenting style are used. Individual controls include age and same-sex romantic attraction; family-level controls include family structure, parental education and public assistance receipt. To take sexual activity prior to Time 1, when parenting style was measured, models include only teens who were virgins at Time 1. Because preliminary analyses suggest that the interactions between race/ethnicity and parenting operate differently for males and females, separate analyses were run for each sex. Preliminary Results Preliminary analyses suggest that the relationship between parenting style, incorporating autonomy and maternal support, and sexual risk-taking differs by race/ethnicity among males but not among females. For example, among males who experience lower levels of autonomy combined with high levels of maternal support, both African Americans and Latinos have higher levels of sexual risk-taking than whites. However, no such pattern surfaces among teens in any other parenting style category. In addition, Latino males whose parents offer low levels of both autonomy and support have significantly lower levels of risk-taking than whites in the same parenting category. Ongoing analyses will further explore the relationships between parenting and sexual risk-taking across race/ethnicity by examining paternal support separately and in combination with maternal support.