Sibling relationship, family, and genetic factors in sibling similarity in sexual risk.
Siblings' risky attitudes toward sex and pregnancy and risky sexual behavior were studied in 1583 dyads from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. We tested moderators of the links between 2 siblings' reports of sexual risk as well as mediators of the links between siblings' genetic similarity and similarity in their sexual risk. Siblings' sexual risk reports were correlated, and consistent with social learning predictions, associations were stronger between siblings with close relationships and in same-gender dyads and, to a lesser extent, between more genetically similar siblings and those closer in age. Consistent with behavior genetics' hypotheses about gene-environment correlations, similarity in family warmth and sibling relationship closeness mediated associations between siblings' genetic similarity and similarity in their sexual risk.
McHale
Susan M
SM
Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. x2u@psu.edu
Bissell
Joanna
J
Kim
Ji-Yeon
JY
D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004843:Epistasis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010641:Phenotype; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology; D012801:Sibling Relations; D012931:Social Environment; D012951:Socialization; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000523:psychology*