Home Base: Family of Origin Factors and the Debut of Vaginal Sex, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Masturbation, and Pornography Use in a National Sample of Adolescents

ABSTRACT

Because early initiation of sexual behavior can lead to negative health outcomes, it is important to understand the influence of family of origin (FOO) on adolescent sexual debut. This brief report explores the relationship between time spent living with both biological parents, overall quality of FOO experience, and various sexual behaviors (vaginal sex, oral sex, anal sex, masturbation, and pornography use) in adolescence and emerging adulthood. We hypothesized that participants reporting higher quality FOO experiences and more time with biological parents would be (a) more likely to delay the debut of these behaviors and (b) less likely to have participated in these behaviors at all. A demographically diverse national sample of 2,556 18–19-year-old U.S. residents was surveyed. Results showed that more time with biological parents was associated with a lower likelihood of experiencing vaginal, oral, and anal sex. Across analyses, higher quality FOO experience was consistently associated with a lower likelihood of pornography access, masturbation, and oral sex and inconsistently associated with a lower likelihood of anal and vaginal sex. Higher quality FOO and more time with biological parents predicted delayed debut of pornography access, masturbation, vaginal sex, and oral sex. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.