African‐American Fathers' Perspectives on Facilitators and Barriers to Father–Son Sexual Health Communication

Abstract

African-American males ages 13 through 24 are disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), accounting for over half of all HIV infections in this age group in the United States. Clear communication between African-American parents and their youth about sexual health is associated with higher rates of sexual abstinence, condom use, and intent to delay initiation of sexual intercourse. However, little is known about African-American fathers’ perceptions of what facilitates and inhibits sexual health communication with their preadolescent and adolescent sons. We conducted focus groups with 29 African-American fathers of sons ages 10–15 to explore perceived facilitators and barriers for father-son communication about sexual health. Participants were recruited from barbershops in metropolitan and rural North Carolina communities highly affected by STIs and HIV, and data were analyzed using content analysis. Three factors facilitated father-son communication: (a) fathers’ acceptance of their roles and responsibilities, (b) a positive father-son relationship, and (c) fathers’ ability to speak directly to their sons about sex. We also identified three barriers: (a) fathers’ difficulty in initiating sexual health discussions with their sons, (b) sons’ developmental readiness for sexual health information, and (c) fathers’ lack of experience in talking with their own fathers about sex. These findings have implications for father-focused prevention interventions aimed at reducing risky sexual behaviors in adolescent African-American males.

The Association Between African American Father–Child Relationships and HIV Testing

“…Most of the studies on parent–child sexual communication conducted among African American (AA) youth has focused on mother–daughter and mother–son sexual communication ( Kapungu et al, 2010 ; Widman et al, 2016 ), which typically focuses on pregnancy prevention. However, there is a dearth of research examining father–child sexual communication among AA youth ( Harris et al, 2019 ; Randolph et al, 2017 ), and even less exploring the association between this communication and HIV testing ( Boyd et al, 2020 ).…”

Father 2 Son: The Impact of African American Father–Son Sexual Communication on African American Adolescent Sons’ Sexual Behaviors

“…Additionally, parents who demonstrated warmth, love, concern, and caring were more likely to have adolescents who practiced abstinence or reduced the number of sexual partners (Aspy et al, 2007). Furthermore, AA fathers believe that it is their responsibility to communicate with their sons (Randolph et al, 2017; Wilson et al, 2010) and that the quality of the father–son relationship could impact parent–son sexual communication. However, despite the relationship quality, AA fathers understood the importance of educating their sons about sex even if the relationship was strained or inconsistent (Baker et al, 2018).…”

“You’ve Gotta be Careful”: Familial Messages Regarding Sexual Behavior and Sexual Relationships among African American Adolescents

“…The majority of studies examining familial communication about sex have focused on communication between mothers and daughters [23,29], while less is known about the nature and influence of father–son sexual health communication [34,35]. One recent exception is a qualitative study by Randolph and colleagues (2017), who found that African American fathers perceived that relationship and communication quality would facilitate conversations with their son, while developmental readiness of the child, communication discomfort and not talking to their own fathers about sex when growing up would serve as barriers to such discussions [35]. This study focused on fathers’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators (not necessarily past experiences), and also shared a limitation of other studies in that it did not talk directly to adolescents about their experiences with such conversations.…”