Comparing Sexuality Communication Among Offspring of Teen Parents and Adult Parents: a Different Role for Extended Family

Abstract

This brief report examined teenagers’ sexuality communication with their parents and extended families. It compared who teens of early parents (those who had children when they were adolescents) and teens of later parents (those who were adults when they had children) talk to about sex. Eighth grade students (N=1281) in 24 schools completed survey items about their communication about sex. Structural equation modeling was used to predict communication profiles, while adjusting for the nesting of students within schools. After controlling for teens’ age, gender, race/ethnicity, grades, parent/guardian closeness, and social desirability of survey responses, as well as family status and median family income, results showed that teens of early (teen) parents were more likely than teens of later (adult) parents to talk with both parents and extended family about sex and less likely than later parents to talk only with parents. These findings indicate that realities of teen sexuality communication for teens of early parents may extend beyond a parent-teen model to include extended family. Extended family involvement in educational outreach is a potential untapped resource to support sexual health for teens of early parents.

Fifty Shades of Belgian Gray: The Prevalence of BDSM-Related Fantasies and Activities in the General Population

“…Stiles and colleagues [14] found resembling data as 38% of their research sample completely concealed their interest, whereas 11-25% only told some close friends or family members. In contrast, talking about sexuality in general to family members was done by 58-75% of teenagers [18]. This could reflect the stigma and the feelings of shame and guilt associated with BDSM involvement [19].…”

21st Century Parent–Child Sex Communication in the United States: A Process Review

“…Parents’ own experiences with risky sexual behavior when they were adolescents triggered discussions about sex-related issues with their own children (Grossman, Tracy, Richer, & Erkut, 2015; Noone & Young, 2010; Williams, Pichon, & Campbell, 2015). Broaching sex-related issues was motivated by concerns over victimization of vulnerable children, such as those with autism spectrum disorders (Ballan, 2012; Holmes & Himle, 2014), or stemming from their own personal trauma such as experiences with sexual abuse or interpersonal violence (Akers, Yonas, Burke, & Chang, 2011; Deblinger, Thakkar-Kolar, Berry, & Schroeder, 2009; Woody, Randal, & D’Souza, 2005).…”

Extended-Family Talk about Sex and Teen Sexual Behavior

“…This focus overlooks findings that over half of teens talk with extended family about sex or relationships [5]. Preliminary quantitative research shows significant associations between extended-family sexuality communication and teen sexual beliefs and behavior [5,6], but existing research often uses a single item to assess extended-family sexuality communication [7,8] and does not examine under what conditions extended-family sexuality communication can be protective or risk-promoting.…”