RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUSNESS AND SEXUALITY IN FEMALE ADOLESCENTS – DO PARENTS HAVE A MEDIATING ROLE?

Cilj rada je ispitati povezanost religioznosti adolescentica s njihovim seksualnim ponašanjem i doživljavanjem te kakvu ulogu u toj vezi imaju odnos djevojaka s roditeljima te komunikacija s njima. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 560 učenica prvih i trećih razreda srednjih škola Grada Zagreba i Zagrebačke županije. Varijable značajne za ovaj rad mjerene su Upitnikom seksualnosti (seksualno ponašanje, namjera upuštanja u spolne odnose u idućih godinu dana te misli i osjećaji prema upuštanju u spolne odnose u tom razdoblju), tvrdnjama koje se odnose na religioznost sudonica, subskalom Odnosa s roditeljima Marshovog upitnika samoopisivanja II, Skalom roditeljskog i vršnjačkog odobravanja seksualnog ponašanja te Upitnikom o komunikaciji adolescenta s roditeljima. Rezultati potvrđuju kako je religioznost djevojaka značajno povezana s njihovim seksualnim ponašanjem i doživljavanjem, pri čemu se najreligioznije djevojke ističu manjim seksualnim iskustvom te manjom motivacijom za upuštanje u spolne odnose u idućih dvanaest mjeseci. Povezanost religioznosti i seksualnosti je veća kod starijih adolescentica. Također, pokazalo se kako su posredne poruke koje im roditelji šalju o seksualnosti značajan medijator u vezi između religioznosti i seksualnosti djevojaka. Kod učenica prvih razreda srednje škole u toj je vezi značajan medijator i odnos s roditeljima, dok je kod učenica trećih razreda to slučaj za odobravanje seksualnog ponašanja adolescentice od strane roditelja.The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between the religiousness of female adolescents and their sexual behaviour and experience, as well as the role that this connection has in the girls\u27 relationships and communication with their parents. A total of 560 female secondary school students in the 1st and 3rd grades from Zagreb and the Zagreb County participated in the research. The variables pertinent to this research were measured with the Sexuality Questionnaire (sexual behaviour, intention to engage in sexual activities in the next year, thoughts and feelings about engaging in sexual activities in this period), claims referring to the religiousness of the participants, the Relationship with Parents subscale from Marsh\u27s Self Description Questionnaire II, the Scale of parental and peer approval of sexual behaviour, and the Questionnaire on the communication of adolescents with parents. The results confirm that there is a strong connection between the female adolescents\u27 religiousness and their sexual behaviour and experience, with the most religious female adolescents having less sexual experience and being less motivated to engage in sexual activities in the next twelve months. The connection between religiousness and sexuality is stronger in older adolescents. In addition, a significant mediator in the connection between the girls\u27 religiousness and sexuality are indirect messages regarding sexuality that they receive from their parents. For 1st grade students, a significant mediator in this connection is their relationship with their parents, whereas for 3rd grade students it is the parents\u27 approval of their sexual behaviour