Parent and Adolescent Education in Relation to Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

The purpose of this study was to determine relationships between several educational variables and adolescents\u27 sexual attitudes and behavior. The sample consisted of high school students who were enrolled in health, family living, and home economics classes in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pretest and posttest surveys were given to these students to evaluate the effectiveness of a prevention program which addressed teen attitudes and behaviors in the areas of peers, families, and morality . The pretest and posttest surveys contained items that specifically measured family background, school achievement, and sexual attitudes and behaviors. Data collected for these particular items were used in the analyses for this report. It was concluded that parental educational background was positively related to adolescents\u27 educational aspirations and performance, and these educational variables were inversely related to adolescents\u27 premarital sexual attitudes and behaviors