Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime has been extensively tested by researchers in the field of criminology, and measures of self-control have been shown to predict crime, delinquency, and deviance. With few exceptions, however, the theory has not been applied to the study of adolescent sexual behavior. Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) and the Children of the NLSY79, this research explores the direct and indirect effects of parenting and self-control on adolescent sexual behavior. Self-control predicts engagement in sexual activity, the number of sex partners, and relationship to last sex partner. Self-control also mediates the relationship between certain parental behaviors and adolescent sexual behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]