Not talking about sex: indirect parental communication and risky adolescent sexual behavior

Abstract

The present study presents a newly adapted measure of participant reported indirect parental sexual communication. Undergraduate psychology students (N=297) were given an online survey which was utilized to investigate the relationship between participant reported indirect parental sexual communication and self-reported risky adolescent sexual behavior. This relationship was investigated to determine if it is mediated by adolescent perception of parental attitudes and whether various demographic variables act as moderators. The goal of the study was to begin to clarify the influence of participant perceived indirect parental sexual communication on risky adolescent sexual behavior so that interventions to reduce risk may be developed in the future.