Early parent child relationships and later risky sex outcomes among African American adolescents

This study assesses the relationship between parental warmth and monitoring in early childhood and later risky sex outcomes among a sample of African American adolescents. I use the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS) to examine the effects of variables related to both social control and self-control theories to determine which theory provides a better explanation for this relationship. Findings suggest that family structure, parental monitoring, self-control, community control, and friends deviance are all associated with risky sex outcomes among African American adolescents in the sample. For females, living with a single mom, low levels of parental monitoring, and low levels of self-control at wave 1 are associated with more risky sex by wave 4. For males, living with a mom and step dad, having deviant friends, and low levels of community control at wave 1 are associated with more risky sex outcomes by wave 4.