Perceived Family Influences on Sexual Decision-Making Among Emerging Adults

Perceived Family Influences on Sexual Decision-Making Among Emerging Adults

Alvin Sherman Library

Research on familial influences on sexual decision-making has focused primarily on adolescents, resulting in limited understanding of how family relationships may influence emerging adults' sexual decision-making. To fill this gap in the literature, we asked participants (ages 18-29) to indicate yes/no to "Do you think that your family has played a role in your current decision to be or not to be sexually active?" and then provide qualitative responses to "Please elaborate on why you think your family has or hasn't played a role in your current decision to be or not to be sexually active." Based on preliminary analysis, there is an even split in acknowledging vs. denying familial influence. The coding of qualitative responses thus far yielded 14 codes reflecting different reasons why they think their family did or did not influence their sexual decision-making. Some of the codes reflected positive familial influences, such as "Family Autonomy Support" (e.g., "they would support what I choose") and "Engagement in Sexual Communication in the Family" (e.g., "they encouraged me to ask questions and openly talk to them anything"), while other codes reflected more negative influences, such as "Parental Control and Strictness" (e.g., "my parents are very strict and I barely have time to really explore much) and "Lack of Sexual Communication in the Family" (e.g., "sex was never a topic in conversation"). Despite emerging adults' strong desire for autonomy, a subset still acknowledges that family influences, both positive and negative, shape their sexual decision-making.