Teenage Partners’ Communication About Sexual Risk and Condom Use: The Importance of Parent-Teenager Discussions

Abstract:
This study involved interviews conducted with 372 sexually active black and Hispanic youth aged 14-17 from Alabama, New York, and Puerto Rico. The researchers examined parent-teenager discussions about sexuality and about sexual risk, as well as parental communication skills, as predictors of teenagers’ discussions about sexual risk with a partner and teenagers’ condom use. Parent-teenager discussions about sexuality and sexual risk were associated with an increased likelihood of teenager-partner discussions about sexual risk and of teenagers’ condom use, but only if parents were open, skilled, and comfortable in having those discussions. Teenagers’ communication with their partner about sexual risk also was associated with greater condom use, but the relationship between parent-teenager communication and teenagers’ condom use was independent of this association. The authors conclude that the influence on teenagers of parent-teenager discussions about sexuality and sexual risk depends on both what parents say and how they say it—and, therefore, programs that foster parent-teenager communication about sexuality and sexual risk should emphasize both of these aspects.

Author(s): Whitaker, Daniel J.; Miller, Kim S.; May, David C.; and Levin, Martin L.

Publication: Family Planning Perspectives


Date Published: 5/1/1999

Pages: 5

Location Code: 8347