The impact of gender on parent-child sexuality communication: Has anything changed?

Abstract

The sexual health of adolescents remains a concern for health professionals as the new millennium, draws near, despite some improvements as a result of sexuality education. One strategy to improve sexual health outcomes for adolescents is parent-child sexuality education in the home, which has been shown in several studies to promote a positive approach to sexuality. As part of a larger study, this paper discusses Australian research on the significance of gender in the teaching practices of parents engaged in sexuality communication in the home. The descriptive cross-sectional design involved a survey of 371 parents of pre-school and pre-adolescent children. Consistent with previous studies, results showed that mothers communicated more than fathers did with their children. Although both mothers and fathers communicated equally with pre-school sons and daughters, by pre-adolescence both discussed sexuality more with their sons than with their daughters. The findings also suggest that parents continue traditional roles in parenting, with mothers and fathers supporting a double standard in society. Parents communicated with sons about topics related to sexual exploration while they discussed physiological and protective issues with daughters. Amid the information age of the 1990s it seems that little has changed in home-based sexuality education, with minimal information offered and the influence of gender significant.