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Topics covered during the sex talk and parent-child relationship satisfaction
COM 297
Dr. Miller-Ott
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 2
Topics covered during the sex talk and parent-child relationship satisfaction
Literature Review
Among the influences that everyday young adults come across in the world, the most
important talk a child and a parent might have during their childhood is the infamous sex talk.
This specific conversation can come in many ways and is often talked about using different
In many cases the sex talk will include topics such as sexual intercourse, important
information like STD’s, certain beliefs like abstinence, and even the general idea of dating
overall (Askelson, Campo & Smith, 2012). The talk shared between a parent or guardian is often
the most preferred and successful way to discuss these several topics. Despite this, O’Donnell et
al. (2007) suggests that even in the case where an adolescent is presented with an opportunity to
discuss these topics in health education classes in school, parents still needed help in how to
bring up the conversation and used the school talk as a guidance. The relationship with their
child plays a big role in how comfortable the child is with their parent and if it is enough to take
them seriously.
The satisfaction between a parent and a child is a changing variable that depends heavily
on the age of the child and whether or not they have an open relationship with their guardian. In
some relationships, the parent themselves are huge influences by how a young adult would view
sexual behaviors and can easily make one feel more or less comfortable with the parent, and
parenting style will affect the amount of satisfaction in the parent-child relationship. The
majority of young people have this encounter with their parents, but what effect does this talk
have on their relationship with their parents? To determine this, the variety of topics covered
during the talk and relationship satisfaction with a parent will be examined.
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 3
The depth and number of topics covered during a reproductive health discussion between
parents and their children impacts the child’s overall understanding of the subject. Parenting
styles and resources play a huge role in the conversation. This leads parents and guardians to
seek outside sources, such as books, faith leaders, and online articles in order to prepare for the
The goal for parents when orchestrating this conversation is to make their children more aware
of sex and its implications. But a child’s view of sex can be influenced by their parents’ beliefs
(Sneed, Tan, & Meyer, 2015). This stems from the parent's parenting style. Their parenting styles
are a reflection of their relationship with their children (Askelson et al., 2012). It can be said that
parenting styles influence how parents approach the conversation and choose the topics. Some of
the more popular topics discussed include sexual intercourse, sexually transmitted diseases and
Despite sex education programs offered through public school, parents seek guidance on how to
discuss the topics at home (O’Donnell et al., 2007). Parents are expected to provide their children
with correct information about sex and help them make responsible decisions in the future
In a study conducted by Evans, Davis, Ashley, & Khan (2012), parent participants were exposed
to the Parents Speak Up National Campaign (PSUNC), which encourages parents and their
children to talk about sex with each other. The campaign offered resources, such as an
informative website and community outreach (Evans et al., 2012). The topics on the website
include social norms, setting goals for the future, and perceived barriers between parents and
their children (Evans et al., 2012, as cited in Evans, Davis, & Zhang, 2008). This information
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 4
could enhance the conversation about sex between parents and children by incorporating other
The relationship between a parent and their child is extremely important. Without this
bond, they will never be able to fully establish a functional and established relationship.
Research has been shown that one of the most challenging conversations between a parent and
their child during the adolescent years is the sex talk (Holman & Kellas, 2015). However, the
research also points out that parents can greatly increase the knowledge of their child and reduce
the likelihood that the child will engage in risky sexual behaviors by talking to them early on and
creating a good relationship with them so that the child will feel comfortable coming to talk to
The parent’s attitude and feelings about sex has a big influence on what they will tell
their children. Manning (2017) discovered that parents used their personal experiences in the
conversation. Fathers discussed boys’ actions towards girls based on how they treated them
during their adolescence years while mothers shared stories involving sexual diseases and early
pregnancy (Manning, 2017). Sneed et al. (2008) state that peers also have a big influence on a
child’s beliefs. The combination of both parent and peer beliefs about sex influence a child’s
Discussing these matters from a child’s point of view may make them feel vulnerable and
unsure, but the type of relationship a child has with their parents can impact the conversation.
Dilorio et al (2006) found that mothers who are confident in their ability to talk to their child
have a higher chance of discussing sex with them. Parents with a greater level of open
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 5
communication and discussed sex with their parents were found to have the same conversation
In a study conducted by Coffelt (2010), some mothers and daughters with an open relationship
viewed sex as a natural topic while others struggled with the conversation. Discussing this topic
can be challenging, but trust and openness between the parent and child can increase the
Conclusion
The most important conclusion to be drawn is that the depth and breadth of the topics
covered during the sex talk reflects the relationship a parent has with their child. Parents may
reach out and find resources to help them guide the conversation. Most parents also decide to
have the sex talk with their child despite sexual education courses being taught in public schools.
This is because a parent discussing sex gives their child more than just factual information, they
give their child insight to their own beliefs and values. This difficult and awkward conversation
may lead to shared values between the parent and child, in turn bringing them closer.
What topics a parent decides to disclose during the talk directly impacts the child’s take
away from it. If a parent chooses to only discuss abstinence and STDs, then the child is less
likely to be engaged and have an actual discussion about sex. The more topics a parent covers
can reflect the openness and trust that they have in their relationship with their child.
It is being found that more and more parents choose not to have this conversation at all
with their child. This brings increasing importance to having the sex talk. Children need this
information from their parent so they can have a more dialogue driven conversation about sex
instead of just being given facts lecture-style in health class. There is much research shown that
having the sex talk with a child increases the likelihood of them waiting to have their first sexual
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 6
encounter, as well as them practicing safe sex when they do. This discussion has more of an
A child will probably be more satisfied in their relationship with their parent if they have
received the sex talk from one or more of their parents. The more a parent is willing to discuss
with their child, the more the child will retain the information given and feel a bond with the
parent. Openness and honesty go a long way in measuring the satisfaction of any relationship, so
it only makes sense for the relationship between a parent and child to grow stronger after having
H1: There will be a relationship between numbers of topics about sex discussed between parents
Methods
We each printed 30 surveys to account for incomplete surveys and other mishaps. The surveys
were then distributed to peers in our other classes, roommates, friends, and members of other
campus organizations we are a part of. We then went through all of our results, discarded
Measures
a 5-item Likert scales with options ranging from 1-5. It included items such as, “How good is
your relationship with your parent/guardian compared to others?” with answers ranging from 1
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 7
(not good) to 5 (very good). The Cronbach’s Alpha for this scale was .825, meaning our scale
The topics covered variable was measured with a 12-point Nominal scale. Participants
were asked to check the boxes of any and all topics that their parent/guardian discussed with
them during the sex talk. It included topics such as STD’s, birth control, puberty, sexual
orientation, emotions, and pregnancy. By checking next to each topic, the participant indicated
that their parent/guardian did cover it during their discussions about sex.
Results
A correlation test between number of topics covered and mean parent-child relationship
satisfaction revealed a significant relationship (r =.2, p =.03). This means that there was a
positive correlation between more topics covered and positive relationship satisfaction. The
mean amount of satisfaction on a scale from 1-5 ended up being 4.3 with a standard deviation of
0.73.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between topics covered and the
that more topics covered during the sex talk would lead to an increase in parent-child
relationship satisfaction. Dilorio et al (2006) found that found that mothers who are more
confident in their ability to talk with their child are more likely to discuss sex. “mothers and
fathers who reported a high degree of openness in their communication with adolescents and
whose own parent had discussed sex with them were more likely to discuss sexual issues with
their adolescents.” (Dilorio et al., 2006). This ties nicely in with our findings and further supports
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 8
the idea that those who discuss more topics regarding sex, and are thus more open in their
relationship, will have a more satisfied relationship between parent and child.
Parents and guardians also play a huge part in any child's life and ultimately form a
relationship with their child starting from birth. Our research showed that the more a child is
satisfied within the relationship, the more topics were discussed in the initial talk. Holeman &
Kellas (2015) stated that parents can increase the knowledge of their child and reduce the risk of
being involved in risky sexual behaviors, if the parent or guardian and child have a comfortable
and reliable bond. Therefore, if they are more satisfied with the overall satisfaction of the
relationship, they will discuss more topics which leads to their child’s overall sexual safety. Our
results showed that there was a positive correlation found between the variables of satisfaction
and topics discussed after extensive research done between the two topics. It proved the overall
relationship between the participants and their guardian as well as the amount of satisfaction
One limitation that we encountered throughout this process was the non-random
sampling method that resulted in only being able to gather 121 participants with most of them
being more women than men. Because of the fact that our entire group was made up of woman,
we naturally were drawn to hand this survey out to other females that we know. Due to the
nature of our study, a larger population sampling with equal representation of gender would have
been more reliable and more interesting to see how the survey might have been answered
differently. Broadening our survey participants by giving the surveys to an equal number of men
and women I think would be good for the future of doing this study again. Doing this may give
different results and in the future adding a demographic section asking the participants’ gender
may be helpful.
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 9
Another element that limited our research was not knowing if the parents and kids had a
satisfied relationship if they never discussed the sex talk with their parent or guardian. We chose
to limit participants to only those who confirmed their parent/guardian had discussed sex with
them before for simplicity, but this is a variable that could also have influenced the levels of
satisfaction. In many cases, depending on how the parent or child relate to another or how open
they are with each other about other topics, satisfaction may still be high in the parent-child
relationship without discussing sex at all. If our survey included all the people who never had
“the talk” our results may be completely different or even skewed in one direction. This would
be another interesting variable to add to the equation that we did not have the chance to examine
for simplicity.
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 10
References
Askelson, N. M., Campo, S., & Smith, S. (2012). Mother–daughter communication about sex:
Ballonoff Suleiman, A., Lin, J. S., & Constantine, N. A. (2016). Readability of educational
materials to support parent sexual communication with their children and adolescents.
Coffelt, T.A. (2010). Is sexual communication challenging between mothers and daughters?
DiIorio, C., Resnicow, K., Dudley, W. N., Thomas, S., Dongqing Terry, W., Van Marter, D. F.,
Evans, W.D., Davis, K.C., Ashley, O. S., & Khan, M. (2012). Effects of media messages on
Holman, A., & Kellas, J. K. (2015). High school adolescents' perceptions of the parent–child sex
talk: How communication, relational, and family factors relate to sexual health. Southern
Manning, J. (2017). Examining health and relationship beliefs in family discourses about purity
pledges: gender, faith values, and the communicative constitution of reality. Western
O'Donnell, L., Wilson-Simmons, R., Dash, K., Jean Baptiste, V., Myint-U, A., Moss, J., et al.
delay sexual initiation among young adolescents. Sex Education, 7(2), 107-125.
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 11
Rhucharoenpornpanich, O., Chamratrithirong, A., Fongkaew, W., Miller, B.A., Cupp, P.K.,
Rosati, M.J., & Chookhare, W. (2012). Parent-teen communication about sex in urban
Sneed, C. D., Tan, H. P., & Meyer, J. C. (2015). The influence of parental communication and
20(8), 888-892.
SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 12
Appendix
Important: Please only fill out this survey if at least one parent/guardian has discussed
sex with you at least once.
Please check all of the topics that a parent/guardian discussed with you at least once
_______ What is sex?
_______ STD
_______ Birth Control
_______ Pregnancy/reproduction
_______ Safe Sex
_______ Methods of dealing with pregnancy
_______ Emotions relating to sex
_______ Puberty
_______ Affection without sex
_______ Sexual orientation
_______ Rape/Sexual Assault
_______ Abstinence
Please answer these next questions considering the same parent/guardian who
discussed sex with you
In general, how satisfied are you with the relationship you have with your parent/guardian?
1 2 3 4 5
Not satisfied Neutral Very satisfied