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Quality of parent communication about sex and its relationship to risky sexual behavior among youth in psychiatric care: a pilot study

2004/01/22 by Helen W. Wilson, Geri Donenberg, Geri R. Donenberg · 26 citations
Health Professions · Medicine · Psychology · #Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health #HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions #Child Abuse and Trauma

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00229.x

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The number of HIV infections among adolescents is increasing, and youth in psychiatric care are at particular risk because of their high rates of risky sexual behavior. METHODS: As part of a larger longitudinal study examining AIDS-risk behavior among adolescents in psychiatric care, this pilot study investigated the relationship between parent communication about sex and sexual risk-taking among treatment-seeking adolescents. Adolescents reported their risky sexual behavior (e.g., inconsistent condom use, sex with multiple partners), and parents reported how frequently they bring up topics related to sex, HIV/AIDS, and birth control. Parents and adolescents participated together in videotaped discussions of fictional vignettes describing situations related to sex, birth control, and AIDS/HIV. Quality of the parent-teen discussions was coded based on a system developed by Whalen, Henker, Hollingshead, and Burgess (1996) to code AIDS-related discussions. RESULTS: Quality but not frequency of parent-teen communication was associated with adolescent sexual risk-taking, and ethnic differences in communication were found. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this pilot investigation underscore the importance of studying the relationship between parent-teen communication and risky sexual behavior among troubled youth and provide direction for the development of family-based intervention programs that focus on parental behavior during conversations with teens.

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