Reaching Parents to Prevent Adolescent Risky Behavior: Examining the Effects of Threat Portrayal and Parenting Orientation on Parental Participation Perceptions

With more than two million teens affected, adolescents are the most at-risk group for unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Parents, who teens cite as their most influential resource for making decisions about premarital sex, receive little consideration from federal initiatives. However, promoting more active parenting to parents to reduce risky behavior among teenagers seems to be an appropriate strategy. This study examines parents’ reactions to advertisements that promote abstinence education programs. The results indicate that “warm” parents (i.e., those who indicate concern about children's interactions with the marketplace) are more likely to intend to communicate with their children about sex and have a more favorable attitude toward the ad when the advertisement is clear about the consequences of teens engaging in sex. The findings have implications for how public policy officials and agencies can influence parents as key socialization agents in efforts to prevent adolescents from engaging in risky sexual behavior.