Parental Influence Paper

Romer et al. (1999) hypothesized that those African-American adolescents who reside in urban areas plagued by poverty, were more likely to engage in early sexual activities and contract sexually transmitted diseases as compared to teens who reside in median income urban areas (Romer, Stanton, Galbraith, Feigelman, Black, & Li, 1999). Results from the study indicated that children who had very engaging parents and a positive parent-child communication were more likely to refrain from early sexual activity prior to reaching their teen years; or would have lower rates of sexual activity during their teen years compared to teens with little or no parental involvement in their lives. This can be attributed to the lack of resources available to impoverished areas such as a lack of access to care and the lack of community centers which promote activity.
Parental Influence …show more content…
Traditionally, children in families tend adopt the behaviors of their parents (Crosson-Tower, 2012). Females tend to take on the characteristics of their mother and males adopt that of the father (Crosson-Tower, 2012). Parents are models and children often mimic what is modeled or shown to them. Hence, adolescents with positive parental relationships and communication tend to look to their parents for guidance and approval of what is acceptable and morally right (Davis & Friel, 2001). On the contrary, adolescents who do not have positive parental guidance and communication often revert to their environment for