Religiosity and heternormativity: parent-adolescent communication about sex and sexual identity

Lana Ione Wood

The current study identifies factors associated with late adolescent female heteronormative object and dependency beliefs about sex and sexuality. Religiosity and parenting style are proposed as social contexts which directly and indirectly influence adolescents' beliefs about gender roles and relationships. Purity beliefs about sex and perceived parent heterostereotypical beliefs about sexuality function as mediators between religiosity and parenting to influence object and dependency beliefs. Research has shown that religiosity and parent warmth have positive effects on parent to adolescent value transmission and internalization. The findings suggest that female adolescent object and dependency beliefs about sex and sexuality may be primarily influenced by religiosity and secondarily by parent warmth. The current study used data from 253 female emerging adults; ages ranged from 18-22 (98%) and 23-25 (2%). Participants were reflecting on memories of parent-adolescent discussions about sex. Over 97% of the participants were heterosexual (n=246). Gay and lesbian sexual orientations were 1.2% (n=3), bisexual 1.2% (n=4). White participants were 83.4% of the sample (n=211). The sample also included 4% Hispanic (n=10) individuals, and 1.2% African-American (n=3), 0.8% Native American (n=2), and 10.7% other (n=27) ethnicities In the final model, religiosity was positively and indirectly associated with object and dependency beliefs via increased purity beliefs. However, once purity was controlled, the influence of religiosity was direct and negative. Parent warmth served as a vehicle to reduce object and dependency beliefs, via reduced purity beliefs. Finally, parental discomfort in discussions about sexuality communicated implicit parental stereotypical gender beliefs, and indirectly promoted adolescent heteronormative object and dependency beliefs. From these findings, it is concluded that religiosity and parenting style in communication about sex function as indirect socializing agents which promote or discourage female object and dependency beliefs, via purity beliefs and parents' hetero-stereotypical beliefs.

Religiosity and heternormativity: parent-adolescent communication about sex and sexual identity

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