Maternal employment and adolescent sexual behavior

A choice-dilemma questionnaire & a 26-item multiple-choice test were administered to unmarried women Coll students (N = 64, aged under 21) to assess the impact of maternal employment outside the home during high school on sexual attitudes, perceptions of acceptable pregnancy risk, & contraceptive knowledge. Of the 39% of the Rs whose mothers had been employed, 72% had had previous sexual relations, as against 43.6% of other Rs. Mean levels of acceptable risk were also higher, & contraceptive knowledge scores lower, for the employed-mother group. Discussion of results includes prior research on adolescent responsibility in similar groups, possible targeting of such samples as high-risk for unwanted pregnancy, & implications for counseling. L. Whittemore.