Family characteristics and intra-familial relationships — for example, family structure, communication within families, and an adolescent’s perception of parental control — are foremost among the factors that influence an adolescent’s sexual behaviors. Some family characteristics influence African American teens differently from the way they do teens of other racial or ethnic groups. In addition, the effects of these characteristics often differ by gender within the African American teen population. Although many family characteristics and their influences cannot be altered, a clear understanding of these influences on adolescent sexual behaviors can inform interventions to meet the needs of African American teens. This issue brief uses findings from research literature published between the late 1970s and the early 21st century to examine the relationship between family influences and the sexual behavior of African American adolescents (Leigh and Andrews 2002).