Family Communication Pattern and Amount of Family Sexual Communication in Indian Family

Good communication within the family shapes an individual’s behavior, choices, and beliefs. Sexual communication between parents and children is important as it affects children’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) behavior, choices, development, and values. However, SRH is a domain of discussion that is often avoided due to the social stigma attached to it. This article aims to understand the influence of family communication patterns (FCP) on the amount of family sexual communication (FSC) through a comparative research design. The data was collected from 134 parents (64 fathers and 70 mothers) of children aged 13–19. The Revised FCP and Weighted Topics Measure of FSC were administered. Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U tests were used to analyze the influence of the FCP and parent-gender on the extent of FSC. A significant influence of FCP and parent-gender on the amount of FSC was found. Results indicate that pluralistic FCPs have the highest amount of FSC, and mothers were found to be engaging in FSC more than fathers. It is recommended to develop programs aimed at increasing conversation-oriented family communication within families as it has a positive influence on the extent of FSC between parents and children.