Comparing White and Asian American Adolescents’ Perceived Parental Expectations and Their Sexual Behaviors

While parental influences on adolescent health behaviors are wellrecognized, there is limited understanding of the relationship between adolescents’perceptions of their parents’ expectations and their sexual behaviors. Thismixed-methods study explored how White and Asian American adolescents perceive parentalexpectations via parent–child interactions, and how such expectations relate toadolescents’ self-reported sexual activities over time. Using gender-matched, in-depthinterviews with 28 White and Asian American adolescents, ages 17 to 19, we exploredadolescents’ perceptions of parental expectations about when, how, and under whatconditions adolescents should engage in sexual activity. Stronger conservative parentalsexual expectations and disapproving parental attitudes were closely related to latersexual debut and fewer sexual partners. Perceived closeness determined the degree towhich adolescents respected and incorporated their parents’ beliefs, values, and sexualexpectations. Future research should focus on developing family strategies to utilizethe concept of perceived parental expectations