Building readiness through connection: A school–family–community framework for adolescent sexual-risk prevention in Northern Thailand

Background: Adolescents and young people in Mae Hong Son Province, a multiethnic and multilingual border region of Northern Thailand, display a gap between sexual health knowledge and preventive practices. Although sexuality education is nationally promoted, its local enactment is shaped by cultural norms, linguistic diversity, and limited coordination between schools, families, and communities. This study explored how key stakeholders perceive the roles of these systems in shaping adolescents’ preventive readiness. Methods: This qualitative study used thematic analysis to interpret data from focus group discussions with 34 adult stakeholders—teachers, parents, community health volunteers, and community leaders—linked to three lower secondary schools and two surrounding communities. Anonymous open-ended responses from 297 students (Grades 7–9, ages 12–15 years) were used as supplementary material to shed light on stakeholder perspectives but were not included in the thematic analysis. Results: Six interrelated themes were developed across school, family, and community domains. Stakeholders perceived adolescents and young people as having basic awareness of sexual health risks but limited ability to apply this knowledge in everyday contexts. Preventive readiness was influenced by culturally mediated family communication, didactic school-based sexuality education, and community involvement that was episodic rather than sustained. Across themes, preventive readiness was understood as relational and context-dependent rather than an individual psychological attribute. Conclusion: Strengthening adolescent sexual-risk prevention in multiethnic settings requires culturally responsive pedagogy, improved family–school communication, and sustained community engagement. A School–Family–Community framework is proposed as an interpretive lens to guide future research and context-sensitive programme design.