Differences in the sexual health information parents/guardians give their adolescent sexual minority sons by outness

Abstract

Parents and guardians are a potentially valuable source of sexual health information for adolescent sexual minority males (ASMM). The current study examines what sexual health topics ASMM report discussing with a parent/guardian and whether topics differ by outness about sexual attraction to other males. ASMM (N = 154; ages 14–17) in the United States completed the baseline of an online sexual health intervention pilot in 2020. They reported which of twelve sexual health topics they discussed with a parent/guardian and if they had disclosed their sexual attraction to other males. Associations between topics discussed and outness to a parent/guardian were examined with Firth logistic regression. Eighty-eight (57%) participants reported being out to a parent/guardian. Six sexual health topics were significantly more likely to be discussed if participants were out. The three categories with the largest differences by outness were how to: discuss with a partner what they would not like to do sexually (aOR = 7.0, 95% CI: 2.0–24.6), use condoms (aOR = 5.9, 95% CI: 2.3–15.1), and prevent HIV/AIDS (aOR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.4–8.7). Interventions on parental/guardian provision of sexual health information are needed to ensure ASMM receive relevant sexual health knowledge.

Keywords:

• Sexual minority
• adolescent
• YMSM
• ASMM
• sex education
• parents
• outness

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank our participants and the Youth Advisory Board.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Mental Health (K23MH109346, PI: Nelson) and the Boston University School of Public Health Center Excellence in Maternal and Child Health (Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) grant 6-T76MC00017-26-01, PI: McCloskey). The content of this publication is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Health Resources & Services Administration. The National Institutes of Health and Health Resources & Services Administration had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Notes on contributors

Kaitlin R. Haupt

Kaitlin R. Haupt, earned her MPH from Boston University. She graduated from University of California, Davis (UC Davis) in 2016 where she studied psychology and human development. She completed a Maternal and Child Health research fellowship under Dr. Kimberly Nelson at the Boston University School of Public Health, focusing on the sexual health information adolescent sexual minority males receive from their parents/guardians.

Claire D. Stout

Claire Stout, is a second-year Clinical-Developmental Psychology PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh. She graduated from Duke University in 2019 where she studied psychology, human development, and education. Claire currently uses quantitative and qualitative research methods to study LGBTQ+ adolescent development, with a focus on sexual health. In the future, she hopes to develop community-informed interventions to address health disparities impacting LGBTQ+ adolescents.

Journey Simmons

Journey Simmons (Pomona College, ’20), is a post baccalaureate research assistant from Denver, Colorado. She has worked at the Boston University School of Public Health on a series of NIH-funded studies pertaining to adolescent sexual health, with a focus on sexual minority adolescents. Her background is in social and cultural psychology with an emphasis on LGBTQ+ and QTPOC youth and reducing health disparities in these populations.

Kimberly M. Nelson

Kimberly M. Nelson, earned her MPH in epidemiology from the University of Washington (UW) and a PhD in clinical psychology also from UW. Having both a public health and psychology background, Dr. Nelson’s research focuses on understanding and intervening on psychological and structural determinants of health inequities with a particular focus on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention among marginalized adolescents and adults.