Young people's use of friends and family for sex and relationships information and advice

Abstract

With the recognition that improving access to advice and support on sex and relationships is vital in helping young people make positive healthy choices, the present paper explores how young people gain such information and advice. Drawing on the analysis of questionnaire and interview data collected for a local study of 401 young people from Cardiff, aged between 12 and 19 years, the paper discusses the complex and heavily structured picture of young people's sex and relationships information‐seeking behaviour. In particular, it explores the varied role(s) that family members, friends and other peers play within this. The paper concludes with a discussion of how these ‘informal’ sources of sex and relationships information and advice in young people's lives may be considered in relation to the development of youth support, sexual health and education policy and practice.

Acknowledgements

The present research was funded by a Cardiff Children and Young People's Partnership ‘Cymorth’ research grant (CYM267). The author would like to thank the many young people, teachers, youth workers and other practitioners who generously gave their time to make this research possible.

Notes

1. The ‘southern arc’ of Cardiff is defined by the city council as spanning the 16 most deprived districts of the city. This area covers large housing estates on the periphery of the city as well as inner‐city areas. Applying the Townsend deprivation index, all 16 electoral divisions in the southern arc are more deprived than the England and Wales average. Unlike the rest of the city, the southern arc area receives full Objective Two status from the European Union.