Abstract

Background. Adolescents and young adults today are participating in high-risk behaviors such as dangerous sexual behaviors and drug and alcohol abuse at high rates. An increased incidence of negative effects associated with the aforementioned behaviors has led researchers to examine factors that influence and protect adolescents from certain devastating effects (Davis, Hendershot, George, Norris, & Heiman, 2007; Goldstein, Bamett, Pedlow, & Murphy, 2007; Hamilton, et al., 2007; Hingson, Heeren, & Winter, 2006; Hingson, Heeren, Winter, & Wechsler, 2003; Hingson, Heeren, Zakocs, Winter, & Wechsler, 2003; McCarty, et al., 2004; Mokdad, Marks, Stroup, & Gerberding, 2004; Mosher, Chandra, & Jones, 2005; Prevention, 2006a, 2006b; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health., 2007). One of these factors is perceived parent-child relationship and how such a relationship may protect against high-risk behaviors. Previous studies have explored this relationship in adolescent populations. However, there have been few studies that examine this relationship in Christian college populations.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between parent-child relationship as perceived by the child and self-reported pre-marital sex, lifetime number of sex partners, frequency of sex, number of hook ups, and alcohol and drug use among a sample of college students at a conservative Christian university in Michigan. In addition, where associations between perceived parent-child relationship and risk behaviors existed, we examined if the associations remained when controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, frequency of church attendance, religious affiliation, self-reported grade point average, and year in college. The independent variable was perceived parent-child relationship and the dependent study variables were self-reported risky sexual behaviors and self-reported drug and alcohol use.

Method. This study relied upon an analysis of an existing anonymized data set, obtained from a cross-sectional survey of college students at Andrews University who completed the "Health Risk and Protective Factors Study" questionnaire. Data were collected by self-report survey distributed to all available classes during normal class periods in March of 2005. Forty classrooms of freshman through doctoral students completed the survey; a total sample size of 780 out of approximately 3,000 students attending the university at the time the survey was distributed.

Analyses. Multivariable analyses included descriptive statistics and association evaluation to compare rates of high-risk behaviors and quality of perceived parent-child relationship. Negative binomial regression and logistic regression were used to examine whether the perceived parent-child relationship was independently associated with pre-marital sex, and drug and alcohol use. Dependent variables included self-reported risky sexual behaviors such as pre-marital sex and self-reported drug and alcohol use; the independent variable was perceived parent-child relationship. The analysis also included gender, age, ethnicity, frequency of church attendance, religious affiliation, self-reported grade point average (G.P.A), and year in college as control variables.

Results. Lack of communication about sex, alcohol, and drugs, between college aged students and their parents, perceived belief that parent(s) approve of high-risk behaviors such as alcohol, drugs and tobacco, wanting to do what parents want, and not wanting to grieve parents were significantly related to pre-marital sex and the degree and overall drug and alcohol use by college students in this sample.

Implications for Health Education. Despite the various prevention programs already developed and implemented that focus on decreasing high-risk behaviors in youth, there is a large gap in programs that provide tangible resources for college aged students at Christian universities. Having the knowledge from the body of research is merely the first step in the overall process. Creating relevant programs on college campuses for students that increase their awareness of high-risk behaviors and provide ways to implement networks to support positive outcomes is another story. There is a need for investigating a broader range of behavioral health indicators such as parent-child relationship and its effect on high-risk behaviors in college aged populations to better, inform the development of effective parent education and training programs for young adults.

School

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Naomi Modeste

Second Advisor

Helen Hopp Marshak

Third Advisor

Gary Hopkins

Fourth Advisor

Duane McBride

Degree Name

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

Degree Level

Ph.D.

Year Degree Awarded

2011

Date (Title Page)

8-2011

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Health behavior in adolescence; Risk-taking (Psychology); Christian college students -- United States -- Conduct of life; Adolescent Behavior -- United States; Adolescent Psychology; Attitude to Health -- Adolescence; Self Concept; Social Values; Parent-Child Relations; Family Relations; Multivariate Analysis

Type

Dissertation

Page Count

xi; 135

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

Download

Share

COinS