Communication barriers inhibiting sex education in the home

Abstract

Past research has shown that adolescents gain the majority of their sex education from peers not parents. This study investigates the effect of four variables on the amount of sex education provided at home: (1) defensive communication climate, (2) sex of the parent, (3) degree of religiosity of the parents, and (4) degree of attitude similarity between parents and children about sexuality.

A descriptive questionnaire with Likert scales was administered to 194 undergraduates at the University of Kansas. Based on a factor analysis, Jack Gibb's 12 categories of supportive and defensive behaviors were collapsed into one communication climate score.

The results of t-tests and one-way analyses of variance showed that: (1) Peers not parents provide the majority of sex information (p < .001). (2) Mothers provide more sex information than fathers (p < .001). (3) During discussions of sexuality, the communication climate between adolescents and parents is more defensive than the climate between peers (p < .001). (4) The degree of religiosity of parents does not affect the amount of sex information conveyed or the degree of defensiveness in the communication climate during discussions of sexuality between parents and children. (5) Parents who share similar sexual values with their children also provided more sex information (p < .001). (6) Supportive communication climates between parents and children correlate with parents sharing more sex information with their children. (7) Males have a more supportive communication climate with their fathers than females during sex talks (p < .001). However, females have a more supportive communication climate when discussing sexuality with their same-sex friends than do males (p < .001).

Thus, while defensive communication climates may be a barrier to parent-child interactions about sexuality, shared sexual values enhance parent-child communication. Males gain little sex education from parents and have a defensive climate with same-sex peers. Suggestions are given for future research and for sex education seminars to combat these barriers.