“We Talked About Sex.” “No, We Didn't”: Exploring Adolescent and Parent Agreement About Sexuality Communication

ABSTRACT

Family communication about sex can protect adolescents from risky behavior, like early sex and sex without protection. However, adolescents and parents often disagree about whether they talked with each other about sexual issues, limiting the protective effects of communication. Few studies explore these disagreements. This study included 27 pairs of early adolescents and parents. Adolescent and parent interviews were coded for agreement in reports of sexuality communication. Adolescents’ interview themes were compared across levels of agreement between adolescent–parent dyads. Adolescents who highly agreed with their parents were more likely than those who did not to describe positive parental approaches to sexuality communication and awareness of parental perspectives, while no group differences were found for responses to parents’ viewpoints. Study findings highlight the importance of sex education programs that support adolescent–parent sexuality communication, particularly for middle school students.

KEYWORDS:

• Early adolescence
• family communication
• teen-parent relationships
• sexual health
• sexuality communication

Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful for editorial feedback from the Wellesley Centers for Women Writing Group.

Funding

This work was supported by the 35th Anniversary Fund and the Class of 1967 Internship at the Wellesley Centers for Women.