Relationship Between High-Risk SEXUAL ACTIVITY and PARENTING STYLES

Abstract:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50% of new sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are contracted among young adults who are between the age of 15 to 24 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). Being diagnosed with STDs can increase the risk of falling ill to major life-threatening diseases (National Library of Medicine, n.d.). In addition, there are numerous studies that report a relationship between poor parenting styles and delinquency in children/ young adults (Erin, 2021; Maughan, 2010). The purpose of this study is to discover the factors that differentiate between people who tend to have high-risk sexual activity and people who do not, based on the parenting styles they were raised with. I conducted an online questionnaire including demographic questions, social desirability scale questions (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960), questions about high-risk sexual activity (Ying et al., 2020), and a childhood nurturing scale based on Seltzer, 2012. I hypothesize that those who score low on the nurturing scales will engage in more high-risk sexual behavior.