Neighborhood and family contexts of adolescent sexual activity

Using a community-based sample of 870 adolescents in Los Angeles. we examin e the influences of neighborhood and family contexts on the transition to f irst sex. We find that the risk of sex is not solely due to neighborhood so cioeconomic status and race, but rather that it is the social conditions th at covary with these structural attributes that are important. Teens living in single-parent or reconstituted families have higher risks, as do teens Ir ho report high levels of parental overcontrol. When compared with White girls, Black and Hispanic boys exhibit higher risk and Hispanic girls exhib it lower risk of having sex.