Parental abusiveness experienced in childhood and premarital sexual permissiveness during adolescence

Heliyon. 2023 Jul 15;9(7):e18101. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18101. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: This study compared the experiences of parental abusiveness in childhood and sexual permissiveness in adolescence between adolescents raised by dual parents and those raised by single parents.

Method: The sampling process involved obtaining the sample size (N = 1037) based on statistical power calculations and the resources available, resulting in representativeness. The sampling frame consisted of students from different backgrounds (single-parent and two-parent families). A stratified random sampling helped to enhance the reliability and validity of the findings while minimizing potential biases. An online survey was used to collect data from the sampled students. An independent sample t-test analysis was done by using SPSS software and PROCESS macro of the SPSS to test the hypotheses.

Results: A significant and positive correlation was found between parental abusiveness and sexual permissiveness. There was also a significant mean difference in parental abusiveness experience and sexual permissiveness between adolescents from different family types. In addition, the average sexual permissiveness for males was higher than that of female adolescents from the same type of families.

Conclusion: Childhood life significantly influences adolescents' characters throughout their entire life.

Keywords: Adolescent; Dual-parents family; Parental abusiveness; Sexual permissiveness; Single-parents family.