Father-Teen Talks about Sex and Teens’ Sexual Health: The Role of Direct and Indirect Communication
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Recruitment and Participants
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Direct Communication
2.2.2. Indirect Communication
2.2.3. Moderating Variables
2.2.4. Control Variables
2.2.5. Outcomes
2.3. Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Statistics
3.2. Structural Equation Models
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Analysis Sample (n = 728) | Male (n = 341) | Female (n = 378) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M(SD) or % | n | M(SD) or % | n | M(SD) or % | n | |
Female | 52% | 728 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Male | 47% | 728 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Neither male nor female/Not sure | 1% | 728 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Black | 16% | 728 | 18% | 339 | 14% | 376 |
Latinx | 53% | 728 | 55% | 339 | 53% | 376 |
Asian | 8% | 728 | 7% | 339 | 9% | 376 |
White | 17% | 728 | 16% | 339 | 17% | 376 |
Middle Eastern | 4% | 728 | 3% | 339 | 6% | 376 |
Biracial | 1% | 728 | 2% | 339 | 1% | 376 |
Child of Teen Parent | 27% | 557 | 24% | 239 | 30% | 314 |
Parent Immigration | 79% | 684 | 77% | 316 | 82% | 361 |
Language Spoken (English) | 87% | 643 | 87% | 291 | 87% | 345 |
Social Desirability | 2.71(1.04) | 639 | 2.70(1.08) | 289 | 2.74(1.02) | 343 |
Direct Communication | Loading |
---|---|
Protecting yourself from STDs | 0.88 |
Protecting yourself from the HIV/AIDS virus | 0.89 |
Protecting yourself from becoming pregnant or getting someone pregnant | 0.88 |
Symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases | 0.79 |
The dangers of getting a sexually transmitted disease | 0.89 |
The negative things that would happen if you got pregnant or if you got someone pregnant | 0.81 |
Sex is ok if both people agree to it | 0.78 |
It’s ok to have sex if it’s with someone special to you | 0.76 |
Being sexual is a natural part of being human | 0.75 |
Indirect Communication | |
Make comments to you about other people’s sexual behavior | 0.86 |
Talk to other people about sexual issues when you are in the room | 0.72 |
Make comments to you about the sexual behavior of movie and TV characters | 0.72 |
Analysis Sample (n = 728) | Male (n = 341) | Female (n = 378) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M(SD) or % | n | M(SD) or % | n | M(SD) or % | n | |
Heterosexual Attraction | 89% | 700 | 93% | 324 | 86% | 368 |
Talk with a Mother | 60% | 706 | 52% | 325 | 67% | 373 |
Direct Comm | 1.81(1.10) | 486 | 1.90 (1.11) | 258 | 1.71(1.09) | 222 |
Indirect Comm | 1.62(.80) | 683 | 1.78(.82) | 314 | 1.48(.76) | 363 |
Had Oral Sex | 37% | 693 | 42% | 324 | 32% | 631 |
Had Vaginal Sex | 33% | 693 | 38% | 324 | 29% | 362 |
Early Sex (before 15) | 28% | 224 | 33% | 120 | 19% | 99 |
Number of Sexual Partners (past 12 months) | 1.76(1.37) | 200 | 1.93(1.46) | 99 | 1.46(1.02) | 96 |
Condom Use (past 12 months) | 3.57(1.55) | 211 | 3.75(1.47) | 108 | 3.42(1.58) | 98 |
Number of Sex Partners (Direct Effects) R2 = 0.05, p = 0.115 CFI = 0.88, TLI = 0.85, RMSEA = 0.06 | Number of Sex Partners (Gender Moderator) R2 = 0.09, p = 0.055 | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B | SE | p | β | SE | p | B | SE | p | β | SE | p | |
Indirect Comm | 0.05 | 0.16 | 0.739 | 0.04 | 0.12 | 0.738 | 0.28 | 0.22 | 0.194 | 0.22 | 0.17 | 0.188 |
Direct Comm | 0.07 | 0.18 | 0.702 | 0.05 | 0.14 | 0.701 | −0.01 | 0.19 | 0.956 | −0.01 | 0.15 | 0.956 |
Indirect Comm X Moderator | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | −0.60 | 0.28 | 0.033 | −0.23 | 0.10 | 0.024 |
Direct Comm X Moderator | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 0.13 | 0.27 | 0.623 | 0.05 | 0.11 | 0.625 |
Female | 0.28 | 0.20 | 0.159 | 0.11 | 0.08 | 0.142 | 0.28 | 0.19 | 0.135 | 0.11 | 0.07 | 0.119 |
Heterosexual Attraction | 0.10 | 0.27 | 0.715 | 0.03 | 0.07 | 0.712 | 0.05 | 0.25 | 0.849 | 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.848 |
Black | −0.09 | 0.40 | 0.820 | −0.03 | 0.12 | 0.820 | 0.02 | 0.40 | 0.967 | 0.01 | 0.12 | 0.967 |
Latinx | −0.20 | 0.34 | 0.558 | −0.08 | 0.13 | 0.558 | −0.09 | 0.34 | 0.785 | −0.04 | 0.13 | 0.785 |
Asian | −0.59 | 0.35 | 0.090 | −0.13 | 0.08 | 0.080 | −0.45 | 0.33 | 0.168 | −0.10 | 0.07 | 0.159 |
Child of Teen Parent | −0.23 | 0.20 | 0.244 | −0.08 | 0.07 | 0.237 | −0.22 | 0.20 | 0.272 | −0.08 | 0.07 | 0.267 |
Talk with Mother | −0.01 | 0.25 | 0.969 | 0.00 | 0.10 | 0.969 | −0.01 | 0.24 | 0.964 | 0.00 | 0.09 | 0.964 |
Language Spoken | 0.28 | 0.20 | 0.148 | 0.07 | 0.05 | 0.135 | 0.32 | 0.20 | 0.113 | 0.08 | 0.05 | 0.095 |
Parent Immigration | −0.07 | 0.30 | 0.806 | −0.02 | 0.10 | 0.805 | −0.10 | 0.29 | 0.722 | −0.03 | 0.09 | 0.721 |
Social Desirability | −0.01 | 0.10 | 0.879 | −0.01 | 0.08 | 0.878 | −0.01 | 0.09 | 0.905 | −0.01 | 0.08 | 0.905 |
Residential Father | 0.04 | 0.19 | 0.826 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.826 | 0.01 | 0.18 | 0.938 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.938 |
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Share and Cite
Grossman, J.M.; DeSouza, L.M.; Richer, A.M.; Lynch, A.D. Father-Teen Talks about Sex and Teens’ Sexual Health: The Role of Direct and Indirect Communication. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 9760. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189760
Grossman JM, DeSouza LM, Richer AM, Lynch AD. Father-Teen Talks about Sex and Teens’ Sexual Health: The Role of Direct and Indirect Communication. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(18):9760. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189760
Chicago/Turabian StyleGrossman, Jennifer M., Lisette M. DeSouza, Amanda M. Richer, and Alicia D. Lynch. 2021. "Father-Teen Talks about Sex and Teens’ Sexual Health: The Role of Direct and Indirect Communication" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 18: 9760. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189760