“It Made Me Feel Comfortable Talking about Sex…”: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Parent-Child Communications about Sexual Behavior with Gay Men

IntroductionParent-child communications have historically played a critical role in helping to socialize adolescents’ and young adults’ attitudes toward sexual behaviors. However, there are limited studies that have examined the impact of parent-child communications with gay males, and sexual behavi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of evidence-based social work (2019) Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 224 - 240
Main Author Allen, Junior Lloyd
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Taylor & Francis Ltd 04.03.2023
Subjects
Adolescents
Children
Hispanic Americans
Homosexuality
Monogamy
Parent-child relations
Parents & parenting
Sexual behavior
Sexuality
White people
Young adults
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Summary:IntroductionParent-child communications have historically played a critical role in helping to socialize adolescents’ and young adults’ attitudes toward sexual behaviors. However, there are limited studies that have examined the impact of parent-child communications with gay males, and sexual behaviors.MethodsNineteen (N = 19) Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino American, and White/Caucasian American gay males were asked about the impact of having communications with their parents on topics regarding sexual behavior and sexual identity. Interviews were transcribed using the iterative processes associated with thematic analysis.ResultsFor many of the participants, these conversations resulted in parent-child communications that were effective, especially regarding a) sexual safety, b) condom use, and c) comfort with talking about sex. For some, however, these conversations were most effective when they were single and non-monogamous. Lastly, a few participants stated that these conversations were not effective as the contents of the conversations did not apply to their sexual desires.ConclusionFor these participants, the conversations with their parents helped shaped their sexual behaviors and practices.
ISSN:2640-8066
2640-8074
DOI:10.1080/26408066.2022.2156830