Teens are less likely to engage in risky sex if families spend more time at the dinner table and "having fun", researchers say.
The detailed US study of nearly 5000 teenagers found parents who do not want their teens to engage in dicey sexual behavior should make family time a priority.
Adolescents who took part in family activities more often had sex less frequently, less unprotected sex, and fewer sexual partners, Boston College researcher Rebekah Levine Coley and colleagues found.
Dr Coley’s investigation reported in the August issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health also found overbearing parents were more likely to trigger early and risky sex in their children.
On the other hand, teens who frequently ate dinner with their family, did “something religious" or had family fun were less likely to go astray.
Family activities were "centrally important supports for children, providing opportunities for emotional warmth, communication, and transmission of values and beliefs”, the study authors found.
Source: Heraldsun.com.au
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24069614-661,00.html
Regular family dinnertime, family fun, and family spiritual activities to reduce at-risk behaviors... This is what we at HomeWord have been advocating to parents over the years. It's nice to have some current research to back up these notions!
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