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. 2019 Mar 7;16(5):833.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16050833.

Parent-Teen Communication about Sexual and Reproductive Health: Cohort Differences by Race/Ethnicity and Nativity

Hannah Lantos  1 , Jennifer Manlove  2 , Elizabeth Wildsmith  3 , Bianca Faccio  4 , Lina Guzman  5 , Kristin A Moore  6
Affiliations

Parent-Teen Communication about Sexual and Reproductive Health: Cohort Differences by Race/Ethnicity and Nativity

Hannah Lantos et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Parent-teen discussions about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) are associated with delayed sex and higher contraceptive use among teens. Using the National Survey of Family Growth, we conducted bivariate and multivariate analyses of different types of parent-teen SRH discussions among two cohorts of teens. We describe differences in patterns for males and females by race/ethnicity and nativity, and test for racial/ethnic interactions within each cohort. Analyses found that the prevalence of parent-teen discussions about SRH increased across cohorts. For males and females, there were increases in parent-teen discussions about condoms, and for males only, there were increases in any SRH discussions and discussions about contraception and STIs. Based on interactions, parent-teen discussions and STI discussions increased most for Hispanic females, and among Hispanics, increased most for the foreign-born. These data indicate increases in different types of parent-teen SRH discussions, particularly for males and foreign-born teens overall, and for Hispanic teen females regarding condom use. Future research should examine what factors are driving these changes, including changes in the structure of U.S. Hispanic communities and expansion of evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs.

Keywords: Hispanics; condom use; contraception; parenting; sex education; sexual and reproductive health; teenagers.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Predicted probability of parent-teen discussions about how to use a condom by cohort and race/ethnicity, among females. Significant differences between cohorts with p-values < 0.05 are marked with an *.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Predicted probability of parent-teen discussions about any SRH topic by nativity among male and female Hispanics. Significant differences between cohorts at the 5 percent level are marked with an *.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Predicted probability of parent-teen discussions about how to say no to sex by nativity among male and female Hispanics. Significant differences between cohorts at the 5 percent level are marked with an *.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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