Stockbyte/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Parents who are firm with the “house rules” when it comes to behavior have teenagers who make better decisions about sex, a review of past studies shows.
Researchers examined 30 studies published over the past 20 years — altogether they included more than 40,000 teens — and found that kids whose parents enforced rules about dating and friends showed higher rates of delaying sexual intercourse, as well as higher condom and other contraception use. The findings were published Monday in Pediatrics.
The researchers say that physicians should focus on encouraging parental monitoring of their teens as another way to fight the problem of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
