Talking to Your Teens About Sex Doesn’t Have to be Scary

By Courtney Furlong, MS, MEd, LPC, CRC 

Parents and primary caregivers carry the most significant influence on healthy adolescent sexual development (Chapman and Werner-Wilson, 2008; Cox, 2015; Meschke & Zentall, 2002). Sexual development during adolescence is a normal, healthy part of family process (Chilman, 1990).

Teens need to feel supported: Adolescents who feel more connected to and supported by family are less likely to participate in risk-taking behaviors, including early sexual debut. Parental supportiveness was positively associated with delayed sexual debut, condom usage, and values and expectations  associated with sexual debut (Cox et al.,2015; Meschke and Zentall, 2002; Parkes et al., 2011). 

Conversations should take place regularly: Regular parent-adolescent communication about  sexual health promotes positive behaviors, including abstinence, fewer sexual partners, contraceptive use, and partner communication about sexually transmitted illnesses (Scull et al.,  2019). 87% of young women indicated that they wanted more information about sex and dating  from their fathers (Meschke and Zentall, 2002). 

Content and Quality of Conversations Matter: Informal, comfortable, open, honest, and  knowledgeable parent-adolescent conversations about sexual health are most effective (Scull et  al., 2019) and should include the positive and negative outcomes associated with sex (Ford et  al., 2019; Schalet, 2011). Reciprocal communication—or back and forth conversations where  talk time is split evenly—diminishes the likelihood of sexual intercourse. On the other hand,  lecturing and other harsh communication actually increased the likelihood of sexual intercourse  (Rogers at al., 2015).  

Conversations should follow the ABC-and-D Conceptual Model, where A = Autonomy; B =  Building (good romantic relationships); C = Connectedness (with parents and caregivers); and D  = recognizing Diversity and removing Disparities (Schalet, 2011). 

Timing of Conversations: Over 50% of children engage in genital touching before discussing  birth control efficacy, resisting partner pressure for sex, sexually transmitted disease symptoms,  condom use, choosing birth control, or partner condom refusal (Becket et al., 2010). Timing of  parent-adolescent communication about healthy sexual development should occur in three  different stages:  

1) Presexual stage (handholding and kissing): Should include topics such as girls’ bodies and  menstruation.  

2) Precoital stage (genital touching and oral sex): Should include topics like birth control  efficacy and refusing sex.  

3) Intercourse (Becket et al., 2010).  

Monitor Your Children: Parents need to know what their children are watching and with whom  their children are hanging out (Langley, 2016; Meschke & Zentall, 2002; Parkes et al., 2011; Scull  et al., 2019). Higher levels of parental monitoring encourage delay of sexual debut, fewer sexual  partners, and increased contraception use (Meschke & Zentall, 2002). Monitoring may include  limiting access to technology and/or “screen time,” screening calls, texts, emails, social media,  etc., enforcing curfews, and getting to know the teen’s peer group.

References 

• Beckett, M.K., Elliott, M.N., Martino, S., Kanouse, D.E., Corona, R., Klein, D.J., & Schuster, M.A.  (2010). Timing of parent and child communication about sexuality relative to children’s sexual  behaviors. Pediatrics, 125(1), 34–42. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2009-0806 

• Chapman, E.N., & Werner-Wilson, R.J. (2008). Does positive youth development predict  adolescent attitudes about sexuality? Adolescence, 43(171), 505–523. http://doi.org/2008- 17180-006 

• Chilman, C. (1990). Promoting healthy adolescent sexuality. Family Relations, 39(2), pp. 123-131.  National Council on Family Relations. https://www.jstor.org/stable/585712 

• Cox, R.B., Shreffler, K.M., Merten, M.J., Schwerdtfeger Gallus, K.L., & Dowdy, J.L. (2015).  Parenting, peers, and perceived Norms: What predicts attitudes toward sex among early  adolescents? The Journal of Early Adolescence, 35(1), 30–53.  

https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431614523131 

• Ford, J.V., Vargas, E.C., Finotelli, Jr., I.J., Fortenberry, D., Kismodi, E., Philpot, A. (2019). Why  pleasure matters: Its global relevance for sexual health, sexual rights and wellbeing.  International Journal of Sexual Health, 31(3), pp. 217-230.  

https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2019.1654587 

• Langley, C. (2016). Father knows best: Paternal presence and sexual debut in African-American  adolescents living in poverty. Family Process, 55(1), 155–170.  

https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12125 

• Meschke, L.L., & Zentall, S.R. (2002). Adolescent sexuality and parent-adolescent processes:  Promoting healthy teen choices. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31(6), 264-279.  

http://doi.org/10.1016s/s1054-139x(02)00499-8 

• Parkes, A., Henderson, M., Wight, D., & Nixon, C. (2011). Is parenting associated with teenagers’  early sexual risk-taking, autonomy and relationship with sexual partners? Perspectives on Sexual  and Reproductive Health, 43(1), 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1363/4303011 

• Rogers, A.A., Ha, T., Stormshak, E.A., Dishion, T.J. (2015). Quality of parent–adolescent  conversations about sex and adolescent sexual behavior: An observational study. Journal of  Adolescent Health, 57(2), pp. 174-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.04.010 

• Schalet, A.T. (2011). Beyond abstinence and risk: A new paradigm for adolescent sexual health.  Women’s Health Issues, 21(3, Supplement), S5–S7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2011.01.007 • Scull, T.M., Malik, V.C., Keefe, M.E., & Schoemann, A. (2019). Evaluating the short-term impact  of media aware parent, a web-based program for parents with the goal of adolescent sexual  health promotion. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(9), 1686–1706.  

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-019-01077-0

Next
Next

Victim of Revenge Porn Awarded $1.2 Billion in Texas