Parent-child quality of sex-related communication before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Research on parent–child sexual communication has increased in recent years, but we know almost nothing about whether parents correctly perceive the quality of sex-related communication with their children. In the present study, I investigated by longitudinal research whether parents correctly perceive the quality of sex-related communication with their children, whether COVID-19 affects the quality of sex-related communication between parents and children, and the congruence in the perceptions of this quality. The sample comprised 300 Israeli families [triad of mothers, fathers, and one adolescent (39% boys, 61% girls; age 14–18)]. Results indicate that adolescents reported more dysfunctional parent–child communication about sex with their fathers, especially within father-son relationships. Moreover, I found that parent–child congruence was surprisingly high and highly dependent on parents’ and children’s gender and the family’s religiosity. The COVID-19 pandemic positively affected father-child communication, supposedly because of greater paternal involvement. These findings highlight an important and understudied topic in the hope of motivating additional researchers and practitioners to adopt a familial, microsystem perspective on healthy sexual development. This view holds great promise in promoting normal sexual development and decreasing risky sexual behaviors.