It may be awkward, uncomfortable, and another fifty other similar adjectives, but the parent to teenager sex talk actually works, and studies have shown that it can have an important influence.
- The study was conducted on 25,000 teens, gathered from 52 different researches
- It emphasized the role of parent-to-teenager sex talk, by promoting safe sex
- Studies have shown that over half of teenagers do not use a condom
- Around 14% of teens don’t use any sort of contraceptive means
Researchers from North Carolina State University have analyzed a number of 52 studies that covered around 25,000 teenagers. They assessed the importance of parent-to-adolescent sex talk, focusing on safe sex and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It might not always seem like parents have the biggest influence on that part of a teen’s life, but they do.
According to Laura Windman, who is a psychologist at the university, talking with your child about sex matters. However, their study did find that the impact seems to be more prevalent for girls rather than boys. This could also be due to the fact that most parents focus on the negative aspects of unsafe sex. This ranges from diseases to unwanted pregnancies.
And mothers have a bigger impact after having ‘the talk’ than fathers normally do. Any talk has an impact though. Their findings have underlined the fact that parent-to-adolescent lowered the chances of engaging in risky sexual behavior. It’s a significant problem that is still met with high numbers in spite of multiple campaigns.
Reportedly, many teenagers engage in various degrees of risk where it concerns sex. This leads to many preventable diseases, such as HIV, to being far too common
According to another study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 47% of teenagers have had sex, and a number of 34% of them are sexually active. Unfortunately, just 57% of them stated that they used condoms during their last sexual encounter. This opens up the risk for multiple STDs.
Additionally, 13.7% of teenagers have admitted to doing absolutely nothing to prevent getting an STD or unwanted pregnancy in their most recent sexual activity. This included condoms or birth control, neither of which had been used. It might not seem a high number, but it’s in fact a problem that could so easily be solved.
And its solution could begin with parental advice. It might not be the most impacting factor, but it’s certainly a start. Windman emphasized that while it’s not the ‘cure’ to teenage pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases, it’s one of the many.
Any sort of measure that will see to those numbers going down will be good. Furthermore, it can also put some of the problems to rest ahead of time, such as the general shame placed on young girls for having sex, or the wrongful pressure for teenage boys that they should always be ready for sex.
Parents are urged to have ‘the talk’, as it may have a bigger impact than believed.
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