Abstract
BackgroundParents play an important role in promoting the sexual health of their adolescents. However, many parents experience several challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore the concerns and educational needs of Iranian parents regarding the sexual health of their male adolescents.MethodsThis qualitative study was designed based on the conventional content analysis approach. Semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 parents of male adolescents aged 12–18 years. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were collected through purposeful sampling and continued until data saturation. Finally, the Graneheim and Landman strategies were used to analyze data.ResultsAccording to the participants’ comments, four main categories were extracted as follows: fear of emotional and sexual harms, quality of parent-child relationships, effect of media and cyberspace, and necessity of sexuality health education.ConclusionsThe findings highlighted the need for sexuality health education through cooperation with schools for offering appropriate education to the students, parents, and school staffs.The results showed that parents required training to enhance their knowledge and skills to improve their communication with their adolescents about sexuality issues. Therefore, it is necessary to design, implement, and evaluate culture-appropriate educational programs to address the parents’ concerns regarding adolescents’ sexual health.
Highlights
Parents play an important role in promoting the sexual health of their adolescents
Plain English summary Parents play a key role in shaping the sexual behavior of adolescents
They are a primary source of values, morals, and standards which have a great influence on children’s sexual socialization and decision making. This qualitative study aimed to explore concerns and educational needs of parents regarding the sexual health of their male adolescents in the Iranian cultural context
Summary
Parents play an important role in promoting the sexual health of their adolescents. The purpose of this study was to explore the concerns and educational needs of Iranian parents regarding the sexual health of their male adolescents. Adolescence is a phase of rapid biological and psychosocial maturity changes that have health effects. The importance of adolescent sexual health has been highlighted well in the last two decades [2]. Engaging adolescents in sexual behavior without appropriate knowledge and skills can increase the risks of poor sexual health outcomes, including unwanted pregnancy, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections [4]. The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that sexuality education is the best way for adolescent to learn safe sexual behaviors and avoid risky sexual behaviors [5]. The goals of comprehensive sexuality education include prevention, and wellbeing and healthy decision making of young people [6]
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