A Cross Cultural Comparison of Adolescent Sexual Socialization in Family Settings in Four Thai Regions: A Cross Sectional Survey

Background: Sexual socialization is different across cultural contexts due to norms and values including adolescents’ growth & development and characteristics. Patterns of sexual socialization across different cultural contexts and adolescents in Thailand are still unknown. This analytical cross-sectional study aimed to explain and compare 5 patterns of adolescent sexual socialization in Thailand (SSFA): trust, strict, exhaust, review, and general patterns. Methods: The sample included 1,050 parents living in the same house with their adolescent offspring aged 13-19 years. Stratified cluster randomized sampling was performed to access participants. The instrument used for measuring adolescent sexualization in families with adolescents was the Sexual Socialization in Families with Adolescents Scale (SSFAS) whose Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.830. Data were analyzed with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Adolescent sexual socialization within families varied significantly across adolescent age groups, regions, and parental roles. Differences were observed in patterns such as exhaust, trust, strict, review, and general. Additionally, parents' perceptions of adolescent sexual risk behaviors varied within the review pattern. However, there were no significant differences between urban and rural areas across all patterns. Conclusion: Future research on adolescent sexual socialization should include disaggregation between adolescent male and female groups. Effective sexual socialization interventions need to focus on the review pattern to help parents transform their sexual socialization into flexible and appropriate ways of family life. Other sexual socialization from friends and media needs to be reviewed. Keywords: Sexual socialization, Sexual behavior, Parenting style, Adolescent, Cultural context, Thailand