What We Know About Youth-Adult Relationships

Adolescents thrive when they have at least one strong, sustained relationship with a significant adult, as well as a network of adult support across contexts (i.e., home, school). Parents and other trusted adults can support adolescents in exploring positive, novel growth experiences, while promoting social and emotional learning. Teachers and other significant adults also have a particularly pivotal role to play as non-parenting adults in adolescents’ lives, since even modest investments by teachers in forming personal connections with adolescent students have the potential to dramatically improve student motivation in the classroom (and thus academic achievement), as well as emotional stability and health outside of school settings (Pianta et al., 2012).

Below are selected scholarly articles about youth-adult relationships.

"Do You Want Somebody Treating Your Sister Like That?": Qualitative Exploration of How African American Families Discuss and Promote Healthy Teen Dating Relationships: By Akers, A. Y., Yonas, M., et al. (2011)

"Let Me Help You Help Me": Church-based HIV Prevention for Young Black Men who have Sex with Men: By Powell, T. W., Herbert, A., et al. (2016)

"When you got nothing to do, you do somebody": A Community's perceptions of neighborhood effects on adolescent sexual behaviors: By Akers, A. Y., Muhammad, M. R., et al. (2011)

A Review of Interventions with Parents to Promote the Sexual Health of Their Children: By Wight, D., & Fullerton, D. (2013)

A systematic review of parental influences on health and well-being of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth: time for a new public health research and practice agenda: By Bouris, A., Guilamo-Ramos, V., et al. (2010)

Adverse childhood experiences, gender, and HIV risk behaviors: Results from a population-based sample: By Fang, L., Chuang, D-M., et al. (2016)

Associations Between Social Determinants of Health and Pregnancy Among Young People: A Systematic Review of Research Published During the Past 25 Years: By Maness, S. B., & Buhi, E. R. (2016)

Center for Parent and Teen Communication: By The Center for Parent and Teen Communication

Communicating with School Nurses about Sexual Orientation and Sexual Health: Perspectives of Teen Young Men who have Sex with Men: By Rasberry, C. N., Morris, E., et al. (2015)

Communicating with School Staff about Sexual Identity, Health and Safety: An Exploratory Study of the Experiences and Preferences of Black and Latino Teen Young Men who have Sex with Men: By Lesesne, C. A., Rasberry, C. N., et al. (2015)

Contraceptive use and pregnancies in adolescents' romantic relationships: role of relationship activities and parental attitudes and communication: Some relationship activities and parental communication about contraception were significant predictors of contraception, and their influence differed by gender.

Developmental Relationships Framework: By the Search Institute

Especially for Daughters: Parent Education to Address Alcohol and Sex-Related Risk Taking Among Urban Young Adolescent Girls: By O'Donnell, L., Myint-U, A., et al. (2010)

Family and Friend Influence on Urban-Dwelling American Indian Adolescent Girls' Sexual Risk Behavior: By Saftner, M. A. (2015)

Family Connectedness and Sexual Risk-Taking Among Urban Youth Attending Alternative High Schools: Family connectedness may be protective against sexual risk-taking.; By Markham, C. M., Tortolero, S. R., et al. (2003)

Family rejection as a predictor of negative health outcomes in white and Latino lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults: By Ryan, C., Huebner, D., et al. (2009)

Family Relationships and Adolescent Pregnancy Risk: A Research Synthesis: By Miller, B. C., Benson, B., et al. (2001)

Healthy Parent-Child Relationships: By OPA

Impact of parent-child communication interventions on sex behaviors and cognitive outcomes for black/African-American and Hispanic/Latino youth: a systematic review 1988-2012: By Sutton, M. Y., Lasswell, S. M., et al. (2014)

Improving the paradigm of approaches to adolescent sexual and reproductive health: Suggests an approach grounded in the principles of positive youth development to reduce risk factors and improve the protective factors that contribute to adolescents’ successful and healthy transition into adulthood.; By Plourde, K. F., Fischer, S., et al. (2016)