Parent communication about sexual issues with adolescents in Vietnam: content, contexts, and barriers

Abstract

This qualitative study examines parent–adolescent communication on sexual topics in Thai Binh province, Vietnam. Data were collected from 45 in-depth interviews and seven focus groups with parents and adolescents of high school age. Results indicate that parents were apprehensive when it comes to sexual communication. Parents warned their children about AIDS or becoming pregnant at a young age, and provided moral advice on male–female sexual relationships, but there was a lack of discussion on other sexual topics such as masturbation, homosexuality, or sexual identities and practices. Real-life examples coupled with media coverage of AIDS, unwanted pregnancy and abortion motivated parents to initiate sexual conversations with their children. Common barriers to parent–adolescent sexual communication included embarrassment among parents and adolescents, parents' beliefs that talking about sex would lead to sexual experimentation among adolescents, and parents' assumptions that they lacked sexual knowledge and communicative skills. There should be a concerted effort to ease cultural and social barriers through public discussions of sexual topics.