Faulkner, S. L. & Lannutti, P. J. (2010). Examining the Content and Outcomes of Young Adults' Satisfying and Unsatisfying Conversations about Sex. Qualitative Health Research, 20, 375-385. doi:10.1177/1077800406295636 (original) (raw)
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2019
The present study aims to extend both affection exchange theory (Floyd, 2002) and sexual scripts theory (Simon & Gagnon, 1986) to the context of communication during sexual activity. With sexual communication being a more recent area of research, the current study aims to develop a new measurement of communication during sexual activity in order to test some previously established relationships as well as some new relationships. Study I analyzes the new measurement of sexual communication by conducting a factor analysis. The model also suggests that sexual assertiveness, sexual self-esteem, and trait affection as predictors of sexual communication as well as analyzing the relationships between communication during sexual activity and relational outcomes such as sexual closeness, sexual satisfaction, sexual arousal, and relationship satisfaction. Study II uses an intervention based experiment in which individuals who are sexually active and in newly developing relationships for less ...
Let's Talk About Sex: How Comfortable Discussions About Sex Impact Teen Sexual Behavior
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 716100416, 2011
A secondary analysis of data from 1,039 Latino adolescents who participated in a study of a sex education program was conducted to examine the impact of comfortable communication about sex on intended and actual sexual behavior. Results indicate that Latino adolescents have a broad communicative network, including friends, dating partners, and extended family members, with whom they talk about sex. Regression analyses suggest comfortable sexual communication is predictive of less likelihood of being sexually active, older at first intercourse, and increased intentions to delay intercourse.
Talk more about it ": Emerging adults' attitudes about how and when parents should talk about sex
Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 2018
Sexual communication from parents is crucial to healthy sexual well-being in young people, yet there is a dearth of research offering evidence-based guidelines for how and when parent-child sexual communication should take place. The perspective of youth on what works and when conversations should happen is also largely absent from the literature. We conducted a mixed-methods study on emerging adults' (N = 441) beliefs about the ideal age and frequency for parents to discuss sex-related topics, and about their parents' strengths and weaknesses in sexual communication. Most participants reported that parents should talk about sex frequently, early, and on a wide variety of topics. They also recommended parents be open, honest, and realistic when talking to their children about sex. We discuss implications for how to reposition parents to Pariera, K. L., & Brody, E. (2018) " Talk more about it " : Emerging adults' attitudes about how and when parents should talk about sex. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 15 (2). 219-229.
2014
The "sex talk" is often one of the most challenging conversations for parents and children during adolescence. Research has established that parent-adolescent communication about sex can greatly reduce adolescents' sexual risk (Guilamo-Ramos et al., 2012; Miller, Benson, & Galbraith, 2001). However, many parents still avoid these conversations due to uncertainty or lack of confidence in how to best educate their children on topics such as sexual health and relationships. Plus, little is known about family communication about sex from the adolescent perspective. In order to develop more comprehensive strategies for parents to engage in these challenging conversations, the present dissertation examined adolescents' perceptions of parent-adolescent communication about sex, including what adolescents report that their parents say about sex, the degree to which these messages are perceived as effective and competent by adolescents, and how parental messages as well as the larger family environment relates to sexual risk. One hundred and fifty-nine high school adolescents (M age = 16.66 years) completed an online survey about actual and ideal parent-child conversations about sex, as well as adolescents' perceptions of attitudes, behaviors, and family communication climate related to sexual risk. Through inductive analyses, six parent-adolescent conversation themes emerged, including safety, underdeveloped/unsuccessful, warning/threat, no talk, comprehensive-talk, and wait. Adolescents' perceived comprehensive-talk and safety conversations as most competent and effective compared to other conversation themes. In addition, results revealed five themes related to ways parents could have made the conversations ideal, including no change, be more specific/provide guidance, talk to me, collaborate, and appropriateness. Besides assessing these themes as separate units of information, further analyses revealed distinct patterns between the actual and ideal conversation themes. The analyses also showed that perceived parental communication competence and effectiveness were the strongest negative predictors of adolescents' permissive sexual attitudes and sexual risk-taking; whereas peer communication frequency was a significant positive predictor in adolescents' permissive sexual attitudes and sexual risk-taking. Overall, family communication climate (e.g. conversation orientation and conformity orientation) was unrelated to adolescents' sexual risk. The implications for these findings are provided, as well as limitations and future recommendations for researchers and parents. iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the love of my life and best friend, Will. v AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation study would not have been possible without the numerous individuals that provided encouragement, guidance, insights, and love throughout this amazing journey. I owe this accomplishment to all of you. First of all, I am grateful to the community of individuals at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln who shaped me into a scholar. My deepest graduate goes towards my dissertation advisor and role model, Jody Koenig Kellas. Jody, thank you for inspiring me to do "meaningful research" and for your steadfast support and intellectual guidance in my development as a researcher, teacher, writer, and person. There were several occasions where I remember feeling disheartened and stumped about the direction of my study, but inevitably a conversation with you always changed my enthusiasm and spirits immeasurably. I have learned so much from you during this process, and your influence will stay with me throughout my career. Thank you for being my person. I would also like to acknowledge the other members of my dissertation committee, Jordan Soliz, Dawn O. Braithwaite, and Lisa Crockett. Jordan, thank you for always believing in me and pushing me to find my unique voice as a student and scholar. You have an uncanny ability to read minds and know exactly what to say in moments of struggle and success. Dawn, thank you for always being one of my biggest supporters, convincing me to come to Nebraska, and instilling in me the importance of our disciplinary roots. Lisa, your important work on adolescents' sexuality has always been an inspiration to me and I am honored that such an influential scholar was a part of this dissertation. vi Along side my dissertation committee, I have been surrounded by absolutely amazing students, colleagues, and friends in Lincoln. There are many individuals who have had a positive influence during my time here, but a few in particular that deserve recognition. Thank you to my research assistants Hillary Naumann and Danielle Buschkoetter for your hard work in analyzing the adolescents' conversation data. To my cohort, Jessy Ohl, Audra Nuru, and Jenna Stephen-Abetz, thank you for embarking on this Ph.D. quest with me. Yay, we did it together! I would also like to extend a special thank you to my academic soul sisters Kristen Carr, Sarah Wilder, Colleen Colaner, and Allision Thorson. I have learned so much from watching you four handle transitions in academic life with immense pose and grace. And thank you to my lady pals-Maggie Yancey, Emily Greise, Chelsi Klentz Davis, Paige Lembeck, and Jen Strickland-for showing me what it means to be loyal friends and amazing women. Our mutual love for wine, popcorn, and reality television has forever bonded us. It is times with you all that I can completely be myself. Finally, I would like to thank my amazing friend Haley Kranstuber Horstman. Haley, you have filled my life with joy, laughter, and kindness. You have taught me the true meaning of friendship, adventure, and husker pride. You will forever be my favorite road-tripping buddy and best friend. Do not tell Riley! To the 159 high school adolescents who so kindly provided their invaluable perspectives and experiences surround communication about sex. I obviously could not have completed this dissertation without you and it is my career goal to make sure that your perspectives and suggestions are the cornerstone of creating positive parent-child communication. I am also extremely thankful for to the Lincoln Public School district and Lake Park-Audubon School district for opening your minds and doors to my vii dissertation project. Thank you to all the superintendents, principals, teachers, and councilors who so generously helped me organize participant recruitment and data collection. Working with you and your students was the most humbling and rewarding part of this dissertation process. To my family, thank you for a lifetime of prayers, love, and support as I followed me dreams. To my sassy little pup Riley, you have taught me about independence, selflessness, and unwavering loyalty. A special thanks to my parents, Rick and Janet Olson, for instilling in me a love for education and the value of working hard to achieve my goals. Mom, you are the most kindhearted and generous person in this world. Thank you for encouraging my "strong-willed" nature and showing me unconditional loveeven during adolescence-when I was not so loveable. Dad, you are my hero. My love for football, popcorn, animals, and the outdoors are because of you. Thank you for teaching me the "art of napping" and that a day in nature is the best cure-all for any bad day. To my amazing siblings Carrie Olson-Manning, Emma Olson, and Joey Olson, you three continually inspire me to achieve greatness. Carrie and Emma, thank you for showing me that intelligence and fun are not mutually exclusive. You two are the strongest women I know. Joey, thank you for teaching me the healing power of laughter and that no dream is impossible. You have always been my number one fan growing up and I still need to get you an honorary metal for attending every dolphin basketball game. To Bill, Heidi, and Avery Holman, I am blessed to be apart of your family and your love was felt throughout this process. To my husband Will Holman, you have been my source of strength throughout this journey. Thank you for your unyielding support toward my Ph.D. dream. You are the viii single best thing that has ever happened to me. Thank you for telling me that what I want is possible, and for all the sacrifices you have made for me to reach my goals. I was continually amazed by your willingness to proof read countless pages of my dissertation and reminding me the importance of my work. I am honored you choose me as a worthy companion for your forever love. It is my hope that one day I can learn to be more like you-calm, patient, and kindhearted. There is so little I understand about life and I am in no hurry to make sense of everything, but the one thing that has always made sense to me is YOU. I believe that your hugs are just the universe's way of reminding me that I am on the right track and to enjoy the journey. I love you and cannot wait to write the rest of our lifelong love letter together. Finally, to my sweet little spirit, you will always be my favorite "what if." ix
Southern Communication Journal, 2015
This research focuses on how high school adolescents' (n= 159) perceptions of parent-adolescent communication about sex, including communication frequency, parent-child closeness, parents' communication competence and effectiveness, as well as the larger family environment relates to sexual risk-taking and permissive sexual attitudes. Findings show that perceived parental communication competence and effectiveness were the strongest negative predictors of adolescents' permissive sexual attitudes and sexual risk-taking, whereas peer communication frequency was a significant positive predictor. In contrast with previous research, adolescents' perception of parent communication frequency and family communication climate (e.g., conversation orientation and conformity orientation) was unrelated to adolescents' sexual risk. One of the most challenging conversations both parents and children report during adolescence is the ''sex talk'' (Guerrero & Afifi, 1995). Extant research has shown that the earlier and more often parents discuss sex-related topics with their adolescents, the more likely their adolescents are to delay their sexual debut and less likely adolescents will be to engage in risky sexual behavior (e.g., Guilamo-Ramos et al., 2012; Miller, Benson, & Galbraith, 2001; Silk & Romero, 2014). Despite the evidence that parent-child communication helps adolescents make sense of sex, many parents shy away from these discussions citing discomfort, lack of knowledge, and general communication issues as deterrents (Jerman & Constantine, 2010). Moreover the majority of research focuses on parent-child communication from the parent perspective. Because recent parent-adolescent dyadic studies have found parents and adolescents have different perceptions (Jerman & Constantine, 2010; Thompson, Yannessa, McGough, Dunn, & Duffy, 2015), an adult-centric focus may be inadequate for identifying the full range of elements associated with effective parent-child sex talks. In order to help parents feel more comfortable engaging in parent-adolescent communication about sex, researchers ought to spend less time on what communication and/or relational factors parents believe are effective and focus more efforts on how adolescents perceive these communication and=or relational factors (Miller-Day, Pezalla, & Chesnut, 2013).
Communication and Sexual Behaviors Within Adolescent Couples
Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 2010
Print ed in the USA. Pe ri od i cals postage paid at Chat ta noo ga, TN, and additional mailing offices. Statements of fact or opinion are the re spon si bil i ty of the authors alone and do not imply an opin ion on the part of the officers or mem bers of Psi Chi. Psi Chi does not accept paid advertising for its publications Eye on Psi Chi or Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research.
Sex Education, 2016
This study builds on existing research into how young people's emergent sexual development is connected to parent-child sexrelated communication through avoidance vs. disclosure. Over the course of one year, a total of 21 young people (age range 12-17.5) reported in longitudinal qualitative diaries their (1) everyday sexual experiences and (2) sex-related conversations with their parents. Using a mixed-methods approach, findings show that less sexually experienced participants reported greater avoidance of parent-child sex-related conversations than more experienced participants. The sex-related conversations of more experienced participants mainly concerned overt experiences in the form of everyday issues with their romantic partner, while the conversations of less experienced participants were characterised by more covert experiences such as opinions about romantic relationships in general. These results suggest that the degree to which young people feel comfortable talking about sexuality with their parents partly depends on when the conversation takes place during a young person's romantic and sexual development.
Parent-Teen Communication About Sexual Topics
Journal of Family Issues, 1998
Parent-teen communication about sexual topics was examined in 666 motherteen and 510 father-teen pairs. Parents and their 8th-through 12th-grade children completed parallel surveys that assessed demographic, relationship, and attitudinal variables hypothesized to be linked to sexual communication. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine which variables were linked to teens' reports of "one good talk" about each of three sexual topics (whether teen sex is okay, the dangers of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and birth control) in the past year. Aside from gender of parents and teens, demographic variables were largely nonsignifi cant in the fi nal models. Instead, relationship and attitudinal variables were linked to sexual discussions in both motherteen and father-teen dyads. Discussion focused on implications for program development and directions for future research.
Feminism & Psychology, 2007
This study provided a qualitative analysis of 79 young adults' descriptions of sexual and relational messages they received from their first significant dating partner. For both men and women, the most frequent theme concerned the negotiation of first sexual intercourse with that partner; other themes di fered by gender. Women reported receiving messages from male partners that indicated a high interest in sexual activity as well as pressure to engage in sexual activity. Women's responses to these messages often involved giving in to unwanted sexual activity. Men reported receiving messages from female partners concerning setting sexual boundaries; they responded to these messages with both acceptance and frustration. Accounts of first significant dating relationships also included discussions of having learned from these relationships, suggesting that experiences with first significant dating partners may have lasting sexual and relational influences. These results suggest ...