Communication about Sexual Behavior among Adolescent Women, Their Family, and Peers

Abstract

Adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease rates in the United States are among the highest among developed nations. A survey of female adolescent family planning patients (N = 249) indicated that teens 13 to 16 years of age were more likely than teens 17 to 1 9 years of age to discuss sexual behavior with adult, nonparental relatives (43% vs. 26%, p = .007). Teens with a prior pregnancy were more likely than never-pregnant teens to report parental discussion of contraception choices (83% vs. 53%, p = .004) and of sites for contraceptive care (61% vs. 37%, p = .0023). Adolescents rely on a complex network of family and peers for communication about sexuality. Social work clinical and community skills facilitate family-centered reproductive health training and counseling for improved reproductive health of U.S. adolescents.

Exploring Parental Perspectives on Parent-Child Sexual Communication

“…This biological emphasis supports other research findings that much of parental discussion of sexuality centers about topics such as puberty and other biological aspects of sexuality (Pistella & Bonati, 1998). A focus on biologically related topics parallels the narrow definition of sexuality education expressed by some participants.…”

Predictors of Sexual Intercourse Among Korean Adolescents

“…As pointed out above, adjustment to school life was a statistically insignificant school‐related factor, which is incongruous with the findings of previous research 13 . Again, further studies are required to verify whether this discrepancy is due to sampling bias.…”

The influence of individual characteristics and contraceptive beliefs on parent-teen sexual communications: A structural model

“…Earlier studies also cite a relationship between the child's age and the amount of communication about sexuality, as well as a change in the content of the messages when parents believed their adolescent was or had been sexually involved [33,34], even though evidence suggests that parents often are not aware when their children become romantically involved or sexually active [35][36][37] and that communication about sexual behavior, particularly condom use, is more likely to influence teen behavior when the conversation takes place before the behavior is initiated [38]. Informing parents about the importance of talking with their teens about these issues before they become romantically involved may encourage more timely conversations.…”