“Let’s Talk about Sex”: Expanding Advice Response Theory to Sexual Advice-Seeking

Communicating about Sex Is Important in Generating Positive Perceptions about One’s Sexual and Romantic Life. The Last Decade Has Provided Insight into the Theoretical Applications on Sex Communication Research. While the Focus on Extant Research Focuses

“…Although Widman et al's (2022) scoping review did not include specific theoretical frameworks in their search terms, we included specific theories in our search strategy to generate studies that applied a theoretical framework to the study of sexual communication. Further, we did not limit our search to only relational or behavioral outcomes because recent research indicates that sex talk can influence both relational and health dynamics (Fedd & Samp, 2023;Machette et al, 2022). As such, we applied the following search terms ("sex communication" and "intimate relationships" and "dualprocess model" and "sexual behaviors" and "message production" and "multiple goals theory") or ("message processing" and "social support").…”

“…Further, when scholars do apply a theoretical framework to examine an aspect of sex talk it is unclear how communication fits into their tenets (Widman et al, 2022). As individuals often discuss various sexual topics in ongoing relationships such as in friendship (Fedd & Samp, 2023), family (Widman et al, 2016), and romantic settings (Faulkner & Lannutti, 2010), it seems logical to guide theory development to understand how interpersonal communication influences sexual health at multiple levels of analysis.…”

Considering Communication Theory in Health Education and Behavior: Applying the Integrated Model of Advice-Giving in Friendship Sex Talks

“…Close friends are chosen over parents and romantic partners (McManus, 2020; Powell & Segrin, 2004) because close friends provide opportunities to seek advice about sexual health concerns (Fedd & Samp, 2023). As close friends are a social reference guiding communication about sexual acts and behaviors, they may proffer advice about managing health problems (Colon-Ramos et al, 2009) and serve as a source of support to discourage risky sexual behaviors (Majumdar, 2006).…”