ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to develop and test a model of the influence of parents and friends on adolescent female sexual behavior that would integrate age-related changes in these influences. Self-report measures assessing discussion of sexual topics with parents and friends, perceived approval of sexual behavior, sexual attitudes, and sexual behavior were administered to 267 high-school and college-aged female subjects. As expected, results suggested that the influence of friends and parents varied as a function of the age of the adolescent. The effects of discussion with mother and parental approval on sexual behavior operated indirectly through sexual attitudes, with the effect of discussion with mother being the strongest in the 9th and 10th grade. The indirect influence of friends’ approval on sexual behavior via sexual attitudes varied across the three age groups, peaking in 11th-12th grades; the direct effect of friends’ approval on sexual behavior peaked in the college sample.
