Correlates of parent–child communication about specific sexual topics: A study of rural parents with school‐aged children

Abstract

Abstract Using data from 600 parents of children aged 5 to 18, and a context‐oriented, developmental socialization conceptual framework, the interrelationships between parents' perceptions of themselves, their child, and their family relationships and the amount of parent–child discussion of 16 sexuality topics were explored. Canonical correlation analysis was used to demonstrate how circumstances and contexts influence the complexity of parent–child conversations for mother–daughter, mother–son, father–son, and father–daughter dyads. Results lend support to the conceptual framework used, as well as to previous studies of this topic area. The implications of these findings for parent–child relationships and for future research on parent–child communication about sexuality are discussed.