Parent-Adolescent Sexual Communication in India: Responses of Middle Class Parents

Abstract

Parents are an important source of sexual health information for adolescents, and quality parent–adolescent sexual communication has been linked to positive sexual health outcomes. We sought to enhance the limited information about parent–adolescent sexual communication in India. The participants were 78 mothers and 91 fathers of adolescents ages 12–19 years. Both mothers and fathers reported limited past sexual communication, on average having talked to their child in general terms only and only a few times, although communication was somewhat better when the sex of the parent and adolescent were congruent. Only half of the parents had strong intentions to engage in these conversations during the following year. Parents’ reports and multiple regression analyses identified parents’ attitudes, knowledge, comfort, and history of sexual communication with their own parents as key factors in limiting parent–adolescent sexual communication engagement and intentions. A number of strategies to enhance parent-adolescent sexual communication are discussed.