Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Jan 10;15(1):107. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15010107.
Parents' conversations with teens about sex and relationships can play a critical role in improving teenage reproductive health by reducing teens' risky sexual behavior. However, little is known about how teen-parent communication changes from early to middle adolescence and how parents can tailor their communication to address their teens' changing development and experiences during these periods. In this longitudinal qualitative study, U.S. parents ( = 23) participated in interviews when their teens were in early adolescence, then again when the teens were in middle adolescence. Participants were largely mothers and were from diverse racial/ethnic and educational backgrounds. Thematic analysis was used to assess continuity and change in parents' perceptions of teen-parent communication. Findings showed that many parents adapted their conversations with their teens about sex and relationships as teens developed. Once teens had entered high school, more parents described feeling comfortable with their conversations. However, parents also more often reported that their teens responded negatively to the communication in high school than they had in middle school. These findings may help parents to anticipate their own as well as their teens' responses to family conversations about sex at different developmental time points and to strategize how to effectively talk with their teens about sex and relationships to improve their teens' overall reproductive health.
父母与青少年关于性和关系的对话可以通过减少青少年的危险性行为，在改善青少年生殖健康方面发挥关键作用。然而，人们对青少年与父母的沟通如何从早期到中期青春期发生变化，以及父母如何根据青少年在这些时期不断变化的发展和经历来调整他们的沟通方式知之甚少。在这项纵向定性研究中，美国父母（=23 人）在青少年早期和青少年中期时接受了访谈。参与者主要是母亲，来自不同种族/族裔和教育背景。采用主题分析评估了父母对青少年与父母沟通的看法的连续性和变化。研究结果表明，许多父母随着青少年的发展调整了他们与青少年关于性和关系的对话。一旦青少年进入高中，更多的父母表示对他们的对话感到满意。然而，父母也更多地报告说，他们的青少年在高中时对这种沟通的反应比在中学时更负面。这些发现可以帮助父母预测他们自己以及他们的青少年在不同发展阶段对家庭关于性的对话的反应，并制定策略，以便有效地与他们的青少年谈论性和关系，从而提高他们的青少年的整体生殖健康。
