Parenting practices and styles associated with adolescent sexual health in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Abstract

ABSTRACTParenting styles and practices are suggested to be important predictors of adolescent sexual health, mostly in Europe and North America. Limited research has been conducted on these processes in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has different patterns of adolescent sexual behavior and family traditions. This study qualitatively explored parenting practices and styles associated with adolescent sexual health in Tanzania, with 12 adolescents and 12 parents of adolescents. The themes we identified from the data included parental monitoring, preventive, and punitive behaviors. Parents were reported to use mostly punitive behaviors to correct or prohibit sexual behavior; parents also set clear rules about appropriate sexual behavior (e.g., modesty and abstinence). Parents were also reported to closely monitor their adolescent children’s friendships and sexual behavior to minimize sexual behavior. However, some parents also engaged in positive preventive practices aimed at protecting their adolescent children.