Running Head: SEX TOPICS AND SATISFACTION 1

Topics covered during the sex talk and parent-child relationship satisfaction

Bri Driggers, Melissa Castillo, Michelle Damato, Sydney Degan

COM 297

Dec. 12, 2017

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

strategies and themes.

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.
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Topics Covered in the Sex Talk

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

conversation (Ballonoff Suleiman, Lin, & Constantine, 2016).

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

abstinence (Askelson et al., 2012).

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

(Rhucharoenpornpanich et al., 2012).

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
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could enhance the conversation about sex between parents and children by incorporating other

issues that are linked to the pressures to be sexually active.

Parent-Child Relationship Satisfaction

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 about anything sex related.

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

thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and actions in regard to sexual intercourse.

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
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communication and discussed sex with their parents were found to have the same conversation

with their children (Dilorio et al., 2006).

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

satisfaction level within their relationship.

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
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encounter, as well as them practicing safe sex when they do. This discussion has more of an

impact than just parent-child relationship satisfaction in the long run.

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

this difficult conversation. Therefore, we predict the following:

H1: There will be a relationship between numbers of topics about sex discussed between parents

and children and children’s relationship satisfaction with parents.

Methods

Participants & Procedures

To conduct our research, we used a non-random convenience sample of 121 participants.

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

incomplete surveys, and entered our data into SPSS.

Measures

We measured the satisfaction variable using a modified version of the Relational

Satisfaction Scale to represent parent-child relationships instead of romantic relationships. It was

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
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(not good) to 5 (very good). The Cronbach’s Alpha for this scale was .825, meaning our scale

was considered reliable.

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

parent-child relationship satisfaction. Based on previous research and findings, we hypothesized

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
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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

within those relationships rises as the variation of topics rises.

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.
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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.
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References

Askelson, N. M., Campo, S., & Smith, S. (2012). Mother–daughter communication about sex:

The influence of authoritative parenting style. Health Communication, 27(5), 439-448.

Ballonoff Suleiman, A., Lin, J. S., & Constantine, N. A. (2016). Readability of educational

materials to support parent sexual communication with their children and adolescents.

Journal of Health Communication, 21(5), 534-543.

Coffelt, T.A. (2010). Is sexual communication challenging between mothers and daughters?

Journal of Family Communication, 10(2), 116-130.

DiIorio, C., Resnicow, K., Dudley, W. N., Thomas, S., Dongqing Terry, W., Van Marter, D. F.,

Lipana, J. (2006). Social cognitive factors associated with mother-adolescent communication

about sex. Journal of Health Communication, 5(1), 41.

Evans, W.D., Davis, K.C., Ashley, O. S., & Khan, M. (2012). Effects of media messages on

parent-child sexual communication. Journal of Health Communication, 17(5), 498-514.

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

Communication Journal, 80(5), 388-403.

Manning, J. (2017). Examining health and relationship beliefs in family discourses about purity

pledges: gender, faith values, and the communicative constitution of reality. Western

Journal of Communication, 81(1), 87-104.

O'Donnell, L., Wilson-Simmons, R., Dash, K., Jean Baptiste, V., Myint-U, A., Moss, J., et al.

(2007). Saving sex for later: Developing a parent-child communication intervention to

delay sexual initiation among young adolescents. Sex Education, 7(2), 107-125.
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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

thai families. Journal of Health Communication, 17(4), 380-396.

Sneed, C. D., Tan, H. P., & Meyer, J. C. (2015). The influence of parental communication and

perception of peers on adolescent sexual behavior. Journal of Health Communication,

20(8), 888-892.
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Appendix

Sex Talk Topics and Satisfaction

We are interested in understanding the connection between topics covered during the sex talk
and parent/child relational satisfaction. Please answer the questions to the best of your ability.

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

How well does your parent/guardian meet your needs?

1 2 3 4 5
Not well at all Neutral Very well

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

How good is your relationship with your parent/guardian compared to others?

1 2 3 4 5
Not good Neutral Very good

How often do you wish you had a different parent/guardian?

1 2 3 4 5
Never Neutral Always

How much do you love your parent/guardian?

1 2 3 4 5
Not at all Neutral Very much