Mothers' Efforts Toward Their Children's Sex Education: An Exploratory Study

• Published in: Journal of family studies Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 83 - 97
• Main Authors: Woody, Jane D., Randall, Amanda D., D'Souza, Henry J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01-04-2005
• Subjects: Adolescents; Direct Guidance; Indirect Preparation; Mothers; Parent Child Relations; Parent child relationship; Parent role; Parents' Effort; Primary secondary education; Questionnaires; Sex Education; United States
• ISSN: 1322-9400; 1839-3543
• DOI: 10.5172/jfs.327.11.1.83

The study examined two types of effort toward their children's sex education made by a sample of 62 mothers with children aged 3 to 17 living in a United States Midwestern urban area, in relation to several parental characteristics as independent variables. Greater indirect preparation effort (getting informed about sex education materials and opportunities) was predicted by the presence of an adolescent and by mothers' higher score on molestation history. Greater direct guidance effort (recent face-to-face interaction with one's child) was explained by a model that included having an adolescent in the family and mothers' higher comfort with sexual topics; however, only the comfort score remained significant. The discussion explores the limitations of the sample, the importance of further research on parental characteristics, and the implications for designing programs to help parents play a greater role in their children's sex education. [Author abstract]