Talking Sexuality: Parent–Adolescent Communication

S. SHIRLEY FELDMAN is senior research scientist, Division of Child Psychiatry and Behavior, and associate director, Program in Human Biology, at Stanford University, Stanford, California. DOREEN A. ROSENTHAL is associate dean (research) in the Faculty of Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.

EDITORS' NOTES (S. Shirley Feldman, Doreen A. Rosenthal).1. Parent-Adolescent Communication About Sex and Birth Control: A Conceptual Framework (James Jaccard, Tonya Dodge, Patricia Dittus):This chapter presents a conceptual framework for understandingparent-child sex-related communications and interprets existing findingswithin the context of this framework.2. Beyond the Yes-No Question: Measuring Parent-Adolescent Communication About Sex (Eva S. Lefkowitz):This chapter critically examines both the conceptualization of and themethods by which we assess parent-child communication about sexuality.Specific suggestions are proposed that will result in more differentiatedand more valid measures.3. Talking to a Tiger: Fathers Reveal Their Difficulties in Communicating About Sexuality with Adolescents (Maggie Kirkman, Doreen A. Rosenthal, S. Shirley Feldman):This chapter focuses on fathers, a topic much ignored in the study ofsex-related communication with teenagers. Using qualitative methodologybased on interviews with fathers, mothers, and adolescents, itreveals that fathers' difficulties result from two important but conflictingdiscoursesA--traditional masculinity and involved fatherhood.4. A"It's a Catch-22A": Same-Sex-Attracted Young People on Coming Out to Parents (Lynne Hillier):This chapter explores teen-initiated communication with parents abouta very specific and usually unwelcome topic of teen sexualityA--namely,attraction to a member of the same sex. The author reports the resultsof a qualitative study on teen and parent reactions.5. Interventions Designed to Promote Parent-Teen Communication About Sexuality (Douglas Kirby, Brent C. Miller):This chapter evaluates different kinds of programs that facilitate parentchildcommunication about sexual topics and shows that althoughcommunication between parents and children can be increased by suchinterventions, the effects do not appear either to last over time or tochange adolescent sex-related behaviors.Name Index.Subject Index.