Applying a Multifactorial Communication Framework to Better Understand Differences between Father-daughter and Mother-daughter Sexual Health Discussions

Abstract

While the literature on parent-child sexual communication among adolescent girls is robust overall, research that is specifically focused on communication between fathers and daughters is more limited. Further, there have been calls for work on parent-child sexual communication to be situated within a multi-factorial conceptual framework that distinguishes between different communication components, such as the communication source, content, frequency, quality, and timing. Using such a framework, this study examined aspects of father-daughter sexual communication as they compare to mother-daughter communication in a diverse sample of 193 girls (M_age = 15.62). Results highlighted several gaps between father-daughter and mother-daughter communication. Girls reported covering less content and communicating less frequently about sexual topics with their fathers compared to their mothers. Girls also reported being less comfortable communicating and found their discussions to be less helpful with fathers than mothers. Girls were also less likely to report communicating with fathers about sexual topics before their sexual debut than with mothers. No significant differences were found in communication style (i.e., conversational or like a lecture) between fathers or mothers. Results highlight the importance of understanding the multifaceted process of parent-child communication and signal the need for targeted intervention efforts to improve upon father-daughter communication.

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health (R00 HD075654, K24 HD069204); NC State College of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Office; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for AIDS Research (P30 AI50410).

Notes

¹ Results showed no significant differences between intervention and control groups in: (1) the frequency of communication about condoms, HIV/STIs, pregnancy, abstinence/sexual limits with mothers (ts(186) = −0.58–1.37, ps = .17–.80) or fathers (ts(166) = −0.28–0.55, ps = .58–.97); (2) the comfort, helpfulness, or style of communication with mothers (ts(159) = 0.18–0.76, ps = .45–.86) or fathers (ts(159) = −1.03–1.12, ps = .27–.56); or (3) the timing of communication about condoms, HIV/STIs, pregnancy, or abstinence/limits with mothers (χ²s(1) = 0.05–0.49, ps = .48–.82) or fathers (χ²s(1) = 0.001–0.30, ps = .56–.98.

² Results showed no significant differences by race in frequency, quality, and timing of communication with mothers and fathers.

³ Results showed no significant differences by parent education in frequency, quality, and timing of communication with mothers and fathers, with two exceptions. Compared to girls with mothers with high school or less education, girls with mothers with at least some college education had a greater likelihood of reporting communicating a few or many times about how to prevent HIV/STIs, χ²(1) = 7.15, p = .008, and abstinence/sexual limits, χ²(1) = 8.04, p = .005.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Center for AIDS Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill [P30 AI50410]; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [K24 HD069204, R00 HD075654]; NC State College of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Office