Psychologists from Montclair State University, led by Constance Geiger, have found that close and warm relationships between children and their parents guarantee equally good relationships with sexual partners in the future.
Scientists believe the reason for this pattern is as follows: relationships with parents shape children's behavior patterns, which they will then use as adults when building their own personal lives. If parents fail to instill the right image in their children, it will be significantly more difficult for them to establish a positive relationship.
The most crucial period for developing future intersexual relationships is the age from 1 to 14 years. Events occurring during late puberty, however, no longer have such a strong influence on the adolescent psyche. In their research, researchers analyzed the results of a survey of approximately 7,000 American married couples with children aged 10 to 17. These couples were surveyed from 1992 to 1994 and from 2001 to 2004. The scientists also asked the couples' children, now aged 20 to 27, about their relationships with the opposite sex.
Thus, a direct link was established between the level of closeness and warmth in relationships with mothers and the ability to build romantic relationships in adulthood. However, fathers' influence on their children's subsequent sexual behavior was found to be less significant. The researchers plan to continue their work to study the influence of parent-child relationships on children's family behavior.