Parent Perspectives about Initiating Contraception Conversations with Adolescent Daughters
Open accessAbstract
Objectives Parent-youth sexual and reproductive health (SRH) conversations are critical to reducing adolescent pregnancy, yet many parents do not discuss contraception before youth become sexually active. We aimed to describe parental perspectives about when and how to initiate contraception discussions, characterize motivators to discuss contraception, and explore the role of health care providers in supporting contraception communication with youth.Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 parents of female youth ages 9-20 recruited from areas of Dallas, Texas, with high rates of racial and ethnic disparities in adolescent pregnancy. We analyzed interview transcripts with a combined deductive and inductive approach, with discrepancies resolved by consensus.Results Parents were 60% Hispanic and 40% non-Hispanic Black, and 45% were interviewed in Spanish. Most identified as female (90%). Many initiated contraception discussions on the basis of age, physical development, emotional maturity, or perceived likelihood of sexual activity. Some expected their daughters to initiate SRH discussions. Cultural avoidance of SRH discussions often motivated parents to improve communication. Other motivators included reducing pregnancy risk and managing anticipated youth sexual autonomy. Some feared that discussing contraception could encourage sex. Parents trusted and wanted pediatricians to serve as a bridge to discuss contraception with youth before sexual debut through confidential, comfortable communication.Conclusion Tension between the desire to prevent adolescent pregnancy, cultural avoidance, and fear of encouraging sexual behaviors causes many parents to delay contraception discussions before sexual debut. Health care providers can serve as a bridge between sexually naïve adolescents and parents by proactively discussing contraception using confidential and individually tailored communication.
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Recent research documents that most parents want medical providers to be involved in their adolescents' sexual and reproductive health education and care and approve of confidential care when they are given information about what it is, why it is important, and how it works.
“This approach is consistent with recent research documenting that most parents want medical providers to be involved in their adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health education and care and approve of confidential care when they are given information about what it is, why it is important, and how it works (Durante et al., 2023, Kannappan et al., 2023).”
From The role (and limits) of developmental neuroscience in determining adolescents' autonomy rights: The case for reproductive and voting rights (2024) · cites this paper as Durante et al., 2023
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- Authors
- Durante, J. C., Higashi, R. T., Lau, M., Tiro, J. A., & Francis, J. K. R.
- Affiliations
- The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (US)
- Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2023-08
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 399-405
- ISSN
- 0932-8610 (ISSN-L)
- 1083-3188
- OpenAlex
- W4323364623
- Cited by
- 9
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 3.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › Adolescent and Pediatric Healthcare
- Keywords
- parent-adolescent communication, adolescent sexual and reproductive health, adolescent pregnancy prevention, parental attitudes, Hispanic parents, sexual initiation
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Communication, Contraception, Female, Humans, Nuclear Family, Parents, Pregnancy, Pregnancy in Adolescence, Sexual Behavior
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