African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Reprod Health. 2020 Jun 1;17(1):79. doi: 10.1186/s12978-020-00938-3.
Parents are an important source of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information for very young adolescents and are likely to have a significant influence on adolescents' sexual attitudes, values, and risk-related beliefs. This study explored the nature and content of parent-child communication about SRH issues.
Thirty-two parents and 30 adolescent boys and girls aged between 11 and 13 years participated in narrative interviews in a resource-poor urban setting in Nairobi, Kenya. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, translated into English, and uploaded on Atlas.ti software for coding and analysis.
Findings from the study show gender differences in parent-child communication. More girls than boys reported that they had talked with their parents about romantic relationships. Four approaches-no communication, fear-based communication, supportive communication, and involving an external person were used by parents in SRH communication. Parents hostile attitudes towards romantic relationships during adolescence discouraged adolescents from disclosing their relationship status. While communication did occur, it was mainly reactive, one-sided, and authoritarian, often initiated by parents.
Parents need to be empowered with adequate and factual SRH information and effective communication strategies to enhance communication with very young adolescents. There is a need for further research to identify the most effective parent-child communication approaches to improve SRH outcomes among adolescents.
父母是未成年子女性与生殖健康（SRH）信息的重要来源，他们可能对青少年的性态度、价值观和与风险相关的信念产生重大影响。本研究探讨了父母与子女之间关于 SRH 问题的沟通的性质和内容。
在肯尼亚内罗毕资源匮乏的城市环境中，32 名家长和 30 名 11 至 13 岁的青少年男孩和女孩参加了叙事访谈。访谈进行了录音、转录、翻译成英文，并上传到 Atlas.ti 软件进行编码和分析。
该研究的结果显示，父母与子女之间的沟通存在性别差异。更多的女孩比男孩报告说他们与父母谈论过浪漫关系。父母在 SRH 沟通中采用了四种方法——不沟通、基于恐惧的沟通、支持性沟通和引入外部人员。父母对青春期浪漫关系的敌对态度阻碍了青少年透露自己的恋爱状况。尽管确实进行了沟通，但主要是被动、片面和专制的，通常由父母发起。
需要赋予父母充分和正确的 SRH 信息以及有效的沟通策略，以加强与非常年幼的青少年的沟通。需要进一步研究以确定最有效的父母与子女沟通方法，以改善青少年的 SRH 结果。
