Adolescents and their Sexual Activity After Parental Divorce:

Can Counseling Have an Affect on Sexual Behavior?

Elizabeth Grace Dauer, Our Lady of the Lake College Human Medicine Student
Our Lady of the Lake College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Abstract
Studies have been done that show a
relationship between divorce and
adolescents romantic and sexual
relationships. Past research shows that
divorce is related to more romantic partners
and more sexual partners in the adolescent.
Counseling adolescents of divorced parents
also has shown a decrease in anxiety and
behavioral changes in the adolescent after
the split of their parents. I want to see if
counseling will change this correlation of
increased sexual behavior. I want to test if
counseling adolescents of divorced families
will halt the initiation of their first sexual
experience to some degree. I will compare
the ages of when counseled adolescents have
their first sexual partner to the ages of when
un-counseled adolescents have their first
sexual partner. I predict to find that the
counseled adolescents
will
have
their
first
Introduction
sexual partner at an older age compared to
the adolescents who have never gone
My
research
group came up with a broad
through
counseling.
topic, based on similar interests of child and
family studies, on how divorce affects
different aspects of adolescents lives. My
research specifically explores how
adolescents sexual behavior is related to
their parents marital breakup. Divorce is
known to show a correlation with various
behavioral changes in children and
adolescents such as changes in their sexual
behavior. I want to know if adolescents of
divorced parents who receive some form of
counseling have sex starting at a younger
age compared to adolescents who have not
received counseling. I decided to do this
study because I did not find any studies that
showed a positive way to change this
correlation using counseling. Although some
may say that there is no harm in younger
adolescents engaging in sexual activity, I
think that adolescents would benefit from
waiting until they are at an older age (when
they have matured more) to engage in sex.
Maturity will likely prevent adolescents from
risky sexual behaviors such as unprotected
sex, which could lead to sexually transmitted
diseases or unwanted pregnancies. This study
will help families and adolescents who have
gone through divorce see the benefits and
positive outcomes of counseling on
adolescents behavior. This study will also
help adolescent psychologists and counselors
better understand their patients behavior
which will give them a better insight as to

Hypotheses
Adolescents of divorced parents who have
gone through counseling as a result of the
divorce, will have their first sexual partner
later than those who do not go through any
form of counseling.

Literature Review
Research has shown that divorce affects
different aspects of adolescent behavior. One
past study examined the affects of divorce on
adolescents romantic relationships. These
researchers found that the adolescents from
divorced families reported being more
susceptible to romantic influence and
reported more dating compared to the
adolescents they studied that came from
intact families (Heifetz, Connolly, Pepler, &
Craig, 2010). Results of another adolescent
study suggest that divorce speeds up the
process of initiating a first romantic
relationship only in early adolescence. Other
possible factors of these results were
recognized such as heightened stress and
sensitivity during this transition time into
puberty (Ivanova, Mills, & Veenstra).

(Heifetz et al., 2010, p. 372)

One particular 2012 study focused on the
behaviors of Spanish adolescents after
divorce. The authors found that percentages
of adolescents who had engaged in various
forms of sexual behavior were higher when
the parents were divorced. Older adolescents
who live with a stepparent were more likely to
engage in sexual intercourse. It was also
found that older adolescents with divorced
parents have more sexual partners if they
were younger when the divorce happened
and now live in a reconstituted family
(Orgiles, Espada, Johnson, Huedo-Medina, &
Carratala). One factor that is often suggested
to cause this correlation is the way that
parental involvement may change in the
adolescents life after the divorce. An
Israelian study examined the quality of the
maternal relationship with the adolescent

competence, but a continued quality

relationship between the mother and the
adolescent alleviated some of the effects of
divorce (Shulman, Zlotnik, Sachar-Shapira,
Connolly, & Bohr (2012). An interesting
aspect of these studies is that they are from
different parts of the world (United States,
Netherlands, Spain, Israel), suggesting that
this correlation between divorce and
adolescent romantic relationships is
applicable world-wide. Brining counseling
into play, a second Israelian study
examined the affects on counseling children
who have shown trauma symptoms after a
divorce.
The dependent variable in this study was
trauma symptoms and anxiety. The
experimental group (counseled children)
showed a major reduction
in trauma and
Method
anxiety compared to the control group (uncounseled
children) adolescents
(Shechtman of
& Mor,
To
test if counseling
divorced
2010). is related to the adolescents first
parents
sexual encounter I will collect appropriate
questions from a sample of adolescents from
the Baton Rouge population. I will collect the
answers from adolescents who have received
counseling at the Our Lady of the Lake
Adolescent Services (Baton Rouge, LA) for at
least 3 months due to their parents marital
break up. This group will be the experimental
group, while the control group will be
adolescents of divorced parents from the
surrounding Baton Rouge area who will
receive the same questions as the
experimental group. Both groups will be 50
males and 50 females ages 13 to 17. I will
give questionnaires to both groups which will
ask the adolescents what age they were
when they had their first sexual partner. The
average age of when adolescents have their
first sexual partner will be collected in each
group. The mean ages between both groups
will be compared using a statistical t-test. A
debriefing will take place to explain to the
participants and their parents the importance
of this study. The participants will be ensured
that their answers will remain anonymous.
The data will be collected different ways from
each group. To make the participants in the
counseling group feel safe, the questionnaires
will be given to them through their
counselors/psychologists during one of their
normal sessions. To ensure anonymity, the
counselors/psychologists will not look at their
patients answers; they will only collect the
answers and give them to the researchers
when they have all been collected. The
control group will be given their

Predicted Results
I predict that the results will show on average
that the participants in the experimental
group have their first sexual partners at
younger ages compared to the control group.
Counseling will have a positive affect on the
adolescents and their susceptibility to sexual
relationships. I believe that these results will
help counselors and psychologists better
understand adolescent behavior. If they
understand their patients better, then they
can do more to help them cope with their
parents divorce. These results may also
encourage parents of adolescents to notice
how divorce can affect their children, and
may show them that positive social
interaction and communication about the
divorce can help adolescents for the better.
One limitation in this study is that those who
choose to participate may do so because they
know that they have had sex starting at an
older or more acceptable age which will skew
results. The participants may also lie about
when they had sex for the first time, in fear of
their identify being matched with their
answer, which will give inaccurate results as
well. Another limitation is that there are
various extraneous variables that may
contribute to the dependent variable that are
not being taken into account. Parents will also
likely be hesitant to allow their children to be
a part of a study in which they must discuss
their sexual experiences.
After finding a correlation between adolescent
counseling and their sexual activity, a new
study can be performed to see if those
adolescents who had their first sexual partner
at a younger age had some form of
Your text would go here. List your information on
depression. Depression is a serious mood
these lines. Your text would go here. List your
disorder that information
can alter behavior
in
on these lines.
adolescents. This study would be done to get
a better understanding of why the
adolescents of divorced
parents
have
their
References
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case
is itrelationships
because
ofadolescence.
depression?).
Another
romantic
in early
Journal of Divorce
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study
can
to (2011).
see The
if the
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2. Ivanova,
K., &be
Mills,performed
M., & Veenstra, Rene.
initiation
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counseling
has an effect on how frequent the
Research on Adolescence, 21(4). 769-775. doi:10.1111/j.15327795.2010.00734.x
adolescent
has un-protected sex. This study
3. Note. Percentages and numbers for adolescents who currently have a
would
bepartner
important
due
thedivorce
dangers
of
romantic
table. Reprinted
fromto
Family
and romantic
relationships in early adolescence, by Heifetz, M., & Connolly, J., & Pepler,
unprotected
sex. Journal
such
as STDs
or unwanted
D., & Craig, W., 2010,
of Divorce
and Remarriage,
51, p. 372.
Copyright 2010 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
pregnancies
in adolescents.
4. Orgiles, M., & Espada, J. P., & Johnson, B. T., & Huedo-Medina., & Tania, B., &
5.
6.

Carratala, E. (2012). Sexual behavior in spanish adolescents of divorced

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