Let's Talk About Sex, Baby! Gender Roles in Parent-Child Sexual Communication

Parent-child sexual communication remains a fruitful avenue to increase safe sex behaviors, which are currently in decline by today's adolescents. Historically, mothers have reported engaging in parent-child sexual communication more than fathers do. Previous scholarship suggests this difference could be due to traditional gender role beliefs or conflicts with traditionally masculine attributes. Using social cognitive theory and social role theory, this study conducted a cross-sectional survey on parents of children aged 9 through 16. Positive relationships existed between outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and level of detail in sexual and reproductive health conversations between parents and children. Though no statistical difference was found between mothers' and fathers' reported outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and level of detail, the study did find positive correlations between agency and communion and all factors. Inconclusive relationships existed between traditional gender role beliefs and factors of parent-child sexual communication. Implications for future research and practical applications are discussed.