Small effects: Adolescents with more extraverted mothers were more likely to be sexually active; sexually active girls were also more likely to use contraception if their fathers scored higher on conscientiousness

Parent personality traits and adolescent sexual behaviour: Cross-sectional findings from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Mark S.Allen, Sylvain Laborde. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 195, September 2022, 111682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111682

Highlights

• Parent personality traits were related to adolescent sexual behaviour.

• Mothers' extraversion and conscientiousness were most important for sexual activity.

• Mothers' openness and conscientiousness were most important for pornography viewing.

• Fathers' extraversion was related to pornography viewing in adolescent boys.

• Fathers' conscientiousness was related to condom use among sexually active girls.

Abstract: Parent personality traits are thought to influence offspring outcomes through inherited traits and parenting styles. This study sought to test associations between parental personality traits and adolescent sexual behaviour. In total, 3089 Australian adolescents (1576 boys, 1513 girls; age 16–17 years) provided information on their sexual activity, with personality data available for 92% of mothers and 60% of fathers. In total, 64.6% of boys and 18.2% of girls reported viewing pornography. Results showed that mothers' personality traits were most important for adolescent sexual behaviour. Adolescents with more extraverted mothers were more likely to be sexually active, and those with more conscientious mothers tended to have their first sexual encounter at a later age. Girls were more likely to view pornography (and more frequently view pornography) if their mothers scored higher on openness, whereas boys were more likely to view pornography (and more frequently view pornography) if their mothers scored lower on conscientiousness. Sexually active girls were also more likely to use contraception if their fathers scored higher on conscientiousness. Effect sizes were small in all instances. Overall, these findings provide initial evidence that parent personality traits relate to offspring sexual behaviour in mid-late adolescence.

Keywords: Big fiveConscientiousnessExtraversionFive-factor modelSexuality