Parents, Peers, and Risky Sexual Behaviors in Rural African American Adolescents

In this study, the authors examined the relationships among parenting factors (closeness, communication, support, and monitoring), peer deviance, and adolescent risky sexual behavior in a sample of rural African American youth (N = 689). Descriptive analyses revealed that risky sexual activity in this sample was common, with a little over half of the sample endorsing participation in one or more risky sexual behaviors. Despite promising associations between parent variables and risky sexual activity, only peer deviance was predictive of risky sexual behavior in the final model. Thus, findings indicate that peer deviance was a salient predictor of risky sexual behaviors in this rural African American sample. Due to the high rates of risky sexual behaviors in the present sample and the serious consequences that may result from such behaviors, future researchers need to focus on their etiology in this understudied population.