Maternal Demandingness and Responsiveness as Predictors of Adolescent Abstinence

This retrospective study examined two distinct parenting dimensions, demandingness and responsiveness, as independent predictors of adolescent sexual risk behavior. The data used to test study hypotheses were from Waves I and II of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). In this sample of 2,030 adolescents and their mothers, maternal demandingness [odds ratio (OR) = 0.77] and maternal responsiveness (OR = 0.89) independently predicted adolescent abstinence from sex. Findings substantiate the use of a dimensional approach to measuring parenting in examining adolescent sexual behavior.