The Effects of Parents’ Marital Relationship Perception and Parental Control Perception on Adolescent Premarital Sexual Behavior

• Main Authors: Yi-Wen Chen, 陳怡文
• Other Authors: Shu-Hsin Ko, Ph.D
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2002
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/59743517045983438630

碩士 === 中國文化大學 === 生活應用科學研究所 === 91 === Over the past 20 years, the trends of sexual behaviors among adolescents are raised significantly in Taiwan. More and more teenagers are engaged in premarital sex. Therefore, researching in this field and noticing the proper authorities are preoccupations. In the adolescent sexuality studies, researchers always consider the family context because it exerts direct and immediate influence on children. When children grow in fine family atmospheres and aware the appropriate control from their parents, it may reduce the risk of adolescent sexuality. Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate adolescents’ perceptions about their parents’ marital relationship and parental control (including psychological control and behavioral control) toward adolescent sexual behavior and intention. This analysis is based on questionnaires of 1,064 students in the 3rd grade of senior vocational schools in Taipei City. The questionnaire consists of five sections: Personal Background Survey, Parents’ Marital Relationship Scale, Parental Psychological Control Scale, Parental Behavioral Control Scale, and Sexual Behavior Survey. Statistical analysis using in the study included descriptive statistical, t-test, one-way ANOVA, chi-square, Pearson’s product-moment correlation, and logistic regression. The major findings of this study are as follows: 1.Almost 80% of adolescents came from the low SES. 2.The level of parents’ marital relationship perception among adolescents tended to “positive”, and the “intimacy” of parents’ marital relationship was higher than the “harmony”. 3.The level of parental control among adolescents tended to “medium”, and mother psychological and behavioral control were both higher than father’s. 4.Two third of all samples had dating experience, and almost 73% of them were engaged in the “light” and “medium” sexual behaviors. Besides, 20% of them were engaged in the “sexual intercourse” (boys: 23.15% and girls: 17.66%), and near 10% of them engaged in the “heavy sexual behavior”. 5.Among all samples, 13.44% of them were engaged in the “sexual intercourse” (boys: 13.97% and girls: 12.90%). Besides, among the non-intercourse adolescents, those with dating experience had higher premarital sex intention in the future, and 51% of them expected to engage in the sexual intercourse. However, those without dating experience had about 37% expected to engage in the future. 6.Boys were aware of the higher “harmony” of parents’ marital relationship than girls. Nevertheless, adolescents who came from the medium to high SES always felt the better parents’ marital relationship than the low SES. 7.Public school students were aware of the higher father psychological control than private school students. Besides, boys felt higher parental psychological control, but girls only in mother behavioral control. 8.According the levels of sexual behavior, private school students and boys were engaged in the “light sexual behavior” significantly, the “medium sexual behavior” girls were, and the “sexual intercourse” private school students were. And adolescents engaged in the “sexual intercourse” felt lower parental behavioral control than the “medium sexual behavior”. Nevertheless, adolescents from private school students and with lower perception of parental behavioral control were engaged in “sexual intercourse” significantly. 9.Among the adolescents with dating experience, boys, felt the higher parental psychological control and lower parental behavioral control had significantly higher intention to engage in sexual intercourse. Otherwise, among the adolescents with non-dating experience, boys and felt lower mother behavioral control also expected to premarital sex in the future. 10.The better the parents’ marital relationship was, the better the parental behavioral control was. However, the better the parents’ marital relationship was, the worse the parental psychological control was. 11.School, gender, and father behavioral control were three of the best factors to predict the adolescent sexual intercourse. Besides, gender, “intimacy” and “harmony” of parents’ marital relationship, mother behavioral control, and dating experience were five of the best factors to predict the premarital sex intention. According the conclusions of these findings, we suggest teenagers should realize the purpose of dating behaviors, make the right decisions, and take their own responsibility but also empathy the perspiration of their parents. On the other hand, parents should make the appropriate control, reflect their own parenting style, and manage the family climate seriously. Moreover, school should further the gender equality education, especially on “True Love Wait”, “Safe Sex Behaviors”, and “AIDS Prevention”, and seek the support from the families. Finally, the proper authorities should firm the vocational education and increase the academic opportunities; therefore, the social stratification process could be destroyed edgingly.