Adolescent Sons Research Articles

A qualitative community health assessment of HIV prevention awareness in a semi-rural Latinx seasonal farm working community in South Florida

This article explores HIV awareness and prevention in a Latinx seasonal farmworker community of south Miami-Dade County in the USA. The study took place as part of a larger community assessment that aimed to determine community needs and resources related to substance abuse, violence and HIV in the Latinx seasonal farmworker communities of south Miami-Dade County, with a particular focus on fathers’ and their male sons’ relationships. The study collected data on HIV knowledge and prevention, healthcare-seeking behaviours, cultural norms, and communication barriers about HIV prevention between fathers and sons. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with community leaders, two focus groups with social and health services providers, and four focus groups involving fathers and their adolescent sons. A deductive approach to data analysis was undertaken. Five major themes were identified: (1) HIVrelated knowledge and perception; (2) HIV prevention strategies; (3) barriers and needs for tailored preventive health and care services in the community; (4) stress over sex-related communication; and (5) the dominance of traditional masculine gender norms in the household and the community.

Parenting in 2 Worlds: Testing improved parent-adolescent communication about sexuality in Urban American Indian families.

Urban American Indian (AI) adolescents are more likely than non-Natives to have early sexual debut, teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and inadequate sexual health information. A RCT in three Arizona cities, with 585 parents of urban AI adolescents, tested whether a culturally tailored parenting intervention for urban AI families, Parenting in 2 Worlds (P2W), increased parent-adolescent communication about sexuality, compared to an informational family health intervention that was not culturally tailored. P2W produced significantly larger increases on two measures: communication about general sexual health and about sexual decision-making. The desired effects of P2W on the first measure were stronger short-term for cross-gender dyads, while for the second measure, they were stronger long-term for both mothers and fathers of adolescent sons.

Perception of parents and caregivers about the need for dental appointments for adolescents from a Brazilian birth cohort.

To investigate the perception of parents or caregivers regarding the need for dental appointments for adolescents aged 12-13 years and associated factors. Data from the Pelotas 2004 Birth Cohort were used. The outcome variable was the need for dental appointments for young adolescents perceived by parents or caregivers. Demographic and economic exposure variables were obtained from the first (2004) and sixth general follow-up (2015), respectively. The exposure variables 'previous history of dental pain', 'self-rated oral health', clinical variables and the outcome variable were obtained from the second oral health follow-up (2017). Unadjusted and adjusted multivariate Poisson regression analyses provided prevalence ratios (PR) and respective 95% confidence intervals (CI). At the first oral health follow-up (2009), 1303 five-year-old children were recruited, 996 of whom were reassessed and underwent oral health examinations at 12 and 13 years of age (response rate: 76.4%). The findings showed that 72.4% of parents/caregivers perceived that the adolescents needed dental appointments. No associations were found between the outcome and sociodemographic or economic variables. After adjustments, the outcome remained positively associated with previous history of toothache (PR 1.22; 95% CI 1.14-1.32), self-rated oral health as fair or poor (PR 1.26; 95% CI 1.15-1.39), the presence of dental caries (PR 1.27; 95% CI 1.20-1.38) and severe or disabling malocclusion (PR 1.14; 95% CI 1.05-1.25). The perception of parents/caregivers regarding the need for dental appointments on the part of their adolescent sons and daughters was associated with oral health problems, and these findings can serve as the basis for creating and improving oral health programmes that seek a better understanding on the part of parents and caregivers regarding the importance of integral care for their adolescent children.

Communication Gap in Impression Management by Fathers on Their Adolescent Sons

Objectives: Fatherlessness, which refers to the distant relationship between fathers and their children, is a prevalent issue in modern society. Fathers focus more on their roles outside the home to fulfill their responsibilities. Thus fathers have limited time to interact with their children compared to mothers. In addition, as the heads of the family, fathers must maintain their figures, especially with their adolescent sons who are starting to get to know the wider environment.
 This study aims to investigate how fathers use impression management in their interactions with their adolescent sons.
 Study design: A study with a subjective interpretation approach was carried out to understand in depth how impression management by fathers is a form of communication that can build interpersonal relationships with their adolescent sons.
 Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in Indonesia, from December 2022 to June 2023.
 Methodology: In-depth interviews were conducted with 7 pairs of fathers (aged 38 to 50 years) and sons (aged 12 to 15 years) who each attended private schools in 7 major cities in Indonesia.
 Results: Fathers do impression management when interacting with their adolescent sons to maintain their self-image. Fathers manage self-impression as a figure that must be respected through creating a respected image, having similar interests in gender and role models. The implication is that fathers when communicating with their adolescent sons, tend to maintain a quiet condition and create an atmosphere where their adolescent sons should have the same attitude as them. This causes discomfort for their adolescent sons so they prefer to communicate with other people rather than with their fathers.
 Conclusion: Impression management becomes a communication gap, which in turn creates a distance in father-son relationships.

Differences in the sexual health information parents/guardians give their adolescent sexual minority sons by outness

Parents and guardians are a potentially valuable source of sexual health information for adolescent sexual minority males (ASMM). The current study examines what sexual health topics ASMM report discussing with a parent/guardian and whether topics differ by outness about sexual attraction to other males. ASMM (N = 154; ages 14–17) in the United States completed the baseline of an online sexual health intervention pilot in 2020. They reported which of twelve sexual health topics they discussed with a parent/guardian and if they had disclosed their sexual attraction to other males. Associations between topics discussed and outness to a parent/guardian were examined with Firth logistic regression. Eighty-eight (57%) participants reported being out to a parent/guardian. Six sexual health topics were significantly more likely to be discussed if participants were out. The three categories with the largest differences by outness were how to: discuss with a partner what they would not like to do sexually (aOR = 7.0, 95% CI: 2.0–24.6), use condoms (aOR = 5.9, 95% CI: 2.3–15.1), and prevent HIV/AIDS (aOR = 3.5, 95% CI = 1.4–8.7). Interventions on parental/guardian provision of sexual health information are needed to ensure ASMM receive relevant sexual health knowledge.

Transactional relationships between maternal requesting and responsivity, adolescent compliance, and task demands in fragile X syndrome

BackgroundMales with fragile X syndrome (FXS) may have difficulty with social communication and language in addition to behavioral concerns such as noncompliance to maternal requests. Mothers vary in how they pose requests to their children, and contextual demands may also be a factor in compliance. This study examined the relationships between maternal requesting behaviors, maternal responsivity, child compliance, and task demands in adolescent males with FXS. Methods35 mother-son dyads completed three interactive tasks during in-home visits (puzzle, iPad games, snack). The adolescents also completed assessments of language and autism symptoms. The three interactive tasks were video-recorded, and behavior-by-behavior coding and transcription was completed. ResultsComparing between tasks, mothers requested a behavior most often during the snack task and used a higher proportion of indirect requests during the iPad task. Adolescents were largely compliant across tasks, with average compliance equal to 70%. Adolescent compliance was predicted by maternal request frequency such that mothers who used more requests had adolescent sons who were less compliant. Maternal responsivity was higher for mothers of adolescents with FXS-only compared to those with FXS and high autism symptoms. Conclusions and implicationsTask demands may have influenced maternal requesting, which in turn may have impacted adolescent compliance. Compliance with requests is important for both social and educational aspects of life, and further study of requesting and compliance in FXS is needed to identify effective teaching and behavioral intervention methods.

“Whenever You’re Ready to Talk about It”: Prompts and Barriers to Inclusive Family Sex Communication with Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Sons

Despite growing evidence that parent-child sex communication (PCSC) is a positive strategy for adolescent sexual health outcomes, there is little research about what prompts and impedes these conversations among parents of gay, bisexual, and queer (GBQ) adolescent sons. Using interview data from a multi-method qualitative study, we analyzed parental perspectives (N = 15) on non-heteronormative sex communication with GBQ adolescent sons. Our results revealed that parents are most likely to engage in sex communication if they established open communication with their child, accepted their child’s sexual orientation, encouraged safe sex practices, and were knowledgeable about LGBTQ issues. Conversely, parents who experience communication discomfort were unable to engage in inclusive and comprehensive sex conversations, thus creating a barrier to effective sex-positive communication. These findings have implications for future research and interventions that promote parents’ ability to successfully facilitate conversations about sexual health with their sexuality diverse children.

Between God and Satan: Thomas Thornton, Witch-Hunting, and Religious Mission in the English Atlantic World, 1647–1693

Between God and Satan: Thomas Thornton, Witch-Hunting, and Religious Mission in the English Atlantic World, 1647–1693

Stigma, gendered care work and sex education: Mothers’ experiences of raising autistic adolescents sons in socially conservative societies

This research reports on mothers’ experiences of raising adolescent autistic sons and how they responded to their sexual and emotional behaviours against a background of social conservativeness. Seventeen mothers of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 20 years’ old were interviewed in semi-structured interviews in Saudi Arabia (n = 10) and Bahrain (n = 7). Four primary content-related themes were identified: two themes related to behaviours are identified as already existing behaviours from childhood and adolescent emerging behaviours. Two themes related to mothers’ responses: mothers’ emotional responses and mothers’ behavioural responses. The findings reveal that the mothers must contend with sexual and emotional behaviours that often result in isolation, loneliness, anxiety and frustration, and fears about their sons’ futures. The research also demonstrates the importance of challenging the medical model of disability, the necessity of school sex education, as well as the vital importance of familial, social and educational support to mothers, on whom the burden of care for their children disproportionately falls.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Intent among Mothers of Adolescent Sons: A National Survey on HPV Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs in South Korea.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections affecting both males and females but there is an apparent lack of knowledge and apprehension towards male HPV vaccination South Korea. The purpose of the present study was to examine the associations between knowledge and perceptions of male HPV vaccination and vaccination intent among Korean mothers of adolescent sons. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a nationwide online survey. The independent variables were mothers' sociodemographic characteristics, history of HPV diagnosis, general HPV knowledge, HPV vaccine knowledge, and attitudes and beliefs towards male HPV vaccination. The outcome variable was mothers' intent to vaccinate their sons, which was classified into three categories: non-intent, undecided and intend to vaccinate. We performed univariate analysis and multinomial logistic regression analysis. A total of 906 eligible mothers completed the survey. Mothers received low scores on the HPV-related knowledge scales with low ratings on the scale measuring perceived risk of HPV. Approximately 10% of the mothers intended to vaccinate their sons against HPV, 61.0% were undecided and 1.5% already had their sons vaccinated. According to the multinominal logistic regression analysis, having a daughter in the family, mothers' previous diagnosis with HPV, general HPV knowledge, influence, harm, and risk were significantly associated with being undecided and having intentions to vaccinate their sons (p<0.05). Our study revealed that Korean mothers are generally less aware of male HPV vaccination, have low perceived risk of HPV, and remain highly hesitant on vaccinating their sons against HPV. It is therefore important to raise public awareness about male HPV vaccination and alleviate vaccine hesitancy. Such efforts will contribute to improving parents' vaccination intent, increasing vaccine uptake among male adolescents and prevention of HPV-associated diseases.

Parent-Child Sex Communication Prompts, Approaches, Reactions, and Functions According to Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Sons

Minimal research on parent-child sex communication between parents and gay, bisexual, and queer (GBQ) adolescent sons prevents the formulation of interventions that would buffer or brake this youth population’s risks for HIV/STI. We sought to describe the perspectives of GBQ adolescent males on this process and the potential ways they think parents can address their sons’ informational needs, including countering youth access of sexually explicit media. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with GBQ male youth aged 15–20 years. Thematic and content analysis revealed four central themes: prompts and triggers, parents’ approaches, sons’ reactions, and the functions assigned to sex communication. Parents can be sources of reliable sexual health information and may be leveraged for future HIV/STI risk reduction work.

Spanish Adaptation of the Family Involvement Questionnaire - High School: Version for Parents

Many studies highlight the importance of parental involvement in the academic performance of children and adolescents across subject areas. In view of the lack of instruments in Spain to assess family involvement of parents of adolescents, we undertook this study to develop the Spanish adaptation of the Family Involvement Questionnaire - High School version (FIQ-HS). The sample consisted of 928 parents (85.7 % females) with adolescent sons and daughters. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses substantiated the expected three-factor structure (home-school communication, school-based activities, and home-based activities), though seven poorly functioning items were removed. The results show that this instrument has adequate psychometric properties, good reliability, and convergence with another measure of family adaptability and cohesion. Therefore, the FIQ-HS is adequate for the assessment of family involvement in Spanish parents.

Saudi and Bahraini Mothers’ Experiences of Including Their Autistic Adolescent Sons in Education: A Capabilities Approach

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have both signed the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and have a number of acts and policies which support inclusive education for children with disabilities. However, achieving the goals of equitable education at all levels remains a challenge, especially for autistic children. This article reports on the experiences of mothers from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in trying to find schools or autism centres for their autistic adolescent sons. The research is based on in‐depth interviews with 17 mothers, the majority of whom reported that educating their sons is challenging, and that the schools and centres are inadequate or expensive, with the result that a number of participants’ children had to stay at home to the detriment of the boys and their mothers’ wellbeing. The findings are interpreted using the capabilities approach, a normative, evaluative framework on questions of social justice and individual flourishing. A capability evaluation reveals that many mothers experience capability corrosion as a result of gender, cultural, and legal restrictions, as well as difficulties in accessing appropriate education, with respect to three central capabilities: bodily integrity, affiliation, and control over one’s environment.

Gender differences in the supply of alcohol to adolescent daughters and sons

ABSTRACT Background: Parents are the main supplier of alcohol to children but it is not known whether mothers and fathers equally contribute to the supply of alcohol to their female and male children as these children transition to adulthood. Objectives: i) to determine whether the gender of the parent is associated with the gender of the adolescent offspring when alcohol is supplied and ii) whether the gender of the parent supplying is associated with gender differences in adolescent binge drinking and alcohol related harms. Methods: Longitudinal cohort of 1,927 (males = 1052) Australian adolescents (mean age 12.9 years), recruited in 2010/11 from schools in Australia and surveyed annually for six years. We assessed the association between adolescent and parent gender related to subsequent adolescent drinking, binge drinking (>4 standard drinks), and alcohol-related harms. Results: At mean age of 12.9 years about one in ten children report parental supply of alcohol which increases to about four in ten children by 17.8 years. Mothers consistently more often supply their daughters with alcohol than their sons, [Wave 5 OR 1.77 (1.53,2.05)], while mothers less often supply sons than their daughters, [Wave 5 OR 0.82 (0.71,0.95)]. Mothers’ supply of alcohol to daughters predicts substantially increased odds of daughters binge drinking, [OR 1.67 (1.10,2.53)] and experiencing alcohol related harms, [OR 1.65 (1.10,2.48)]. Conclusion: There is a need to involve both mothers and fathers and to equally target female and male children in programs to reduce the harmful consequences of parental supply of alcohol to their children.

Social relationships between chimpanzee sons and mothers endure but change during adolescence and adulthood

Mothers provide indispensable care for infants in many mammalian species. In some long-lived species, the maternal-offspring bond persists after infancy with mothers continuing to provide resources and social support to their adult progeny. Maternal presence is associated with fitness benefits through adolescence for male chimpanzees despite the fact that mature males dominate females and form their strongest bonds with other males. How mothers support grown sons is unknown, because few studies have examined developmental shifts in mother-son relationships during adolescence and adulthood. We investigated social interactions between 29 adolescent (9–15 years) and young adult male (16–20 years) chimpanzees and their mothers at Ngogo in Kibale National Park, Uganda, over 3 years. All males under 12 years old had their mother as their top grooming and proximity partner, as did one-third of the young adult males. As males grew older, the amount of time they associated with, maintained proximity to, groomed with, and kept track of their mothers while traveling decreased. When males were together in the same party as their mothers, however, young adult males affiliated with their mothers as frequently as did adolescent males, with sons initiating the majority of these interactions. In contrast to adult sons, however, adolescent sons became distressed when separated from mothers and relied on their mothers for agonistic support and reassurance after conflicts. These findings indicate that the chimpanzee maternal-offspring bond continues but changes through adolescence and adulthood, with mothers remaining occasional social companions for most adult sons and frequent companions for some. Mammalian mothers protect and provision their infants, and in some species, mothers provide social support for their adult offspring. The importance of mothers in the lives of adult sons is clear in humans and in one of our closest relatives, bonobos. Here we show mothers are also important social partners for sons throughout adolescence and into young adulthood in chimpanzees. Despite prevailing knowledge that adult males are key alliance partners for male chimpanzees, we demonstrate that male chimpanzees maintain social bonds with their mothers into adulthood. We also suggest that social bonds reflect not only the total time spent together, but what animals do during those times, as many young adults rarely groomed their mothers, but at times when they were in the same subgroup with her, they did so frequently. Future research will assess the physiological, psychological, and reproductive benefits of such mother-son bonds.

“I don’t Think He Needs the HPV Vaccine Cause Boys Can’t Have Cervical Cancer”: a Qualitative Study of Latina Mothers’ (Mis) Understandings About Human Papillomavirus Transmission, Associated Cancers, and the Vaccine

Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States and etiologically linked to several types of cancers including the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and oropharynges. Evidence indicates certain types of HPV-associated cancers disproportionally affect Latinos in the United States. This qualitative study sought to explore Latina mothers' perceptions and understanding of HPV infection, HPV-associated cancers, and the HPV vaccination for their adolescent sons and daughters. Twenty-two individual, face-to-face interviews were conducted in 2018-2019 with mothers who had at least one child between the ages of 11 and 19years. Data were analyzed using a hybrid method of thematic analysis that incorporated deductive and inductive approaches. Two major themes emerged from the analysis: (1) mothers' (mis) understanding about HPV infection transmission and HPV-associated cancer risk for girls and boys, and (2) mothers' (mis) understandings about the HPV vaccination for girls and boys. Results found that most mothers had inadequate understanding of HPV transmission, HPV-associated cancer risk for males, and need to vaccinate boys against the virus for their own personal health and prevention of HPV-associated cancers. Findings suggest that interventions should focus on improving Latina mothers' understanding of HPV transmission, addressing the lack or inadequate knowledge about HPV-associated cancer risk for males, as well as misconceptions about the importance of the HPV vaccination for males for their personal health and the prevention of HPV-associated cancers. Future research should quantify Latino parents' awareness, knowledge, and acceptability of the HPV vaccine for their sons and daughters.

Effects of Domestic Violence Against Women on Their Children

The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress of mothers who suffered intimate partner violence (IPV) as predictors of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and internalizing and externalizing problems of their children. The study was performed with 30 women and their children (43), housed in a shelter in the south of Brazil. Mothers answered a questionnaire about sociodemographic data; the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) about the data of her children aged from 6 to 10 years; and the BDI-II, PCL-C, and BAI for the mothers. It was applied the youth self-report (YSR) for adolescent sons aged 11 to 18 years. The data were analyzed using simple linear regression. The women presented high levels of posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety, and their children had 23.3% of clinical and 25.6% borderline cases according to the total problem scale of CBCL/YSR. The association of anxiety and depression of the mothers with the symptoms indicated by the CBCL/YSR was observed. The impact of IPV on children has little visibility, and the data demonstrate the urgent need to provide interventions in the service network in primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention to women victims of IPV and their children.

Correction to: Low Resistance of Senior Resident Females Toward Female Immigration in Bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Wamba, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Female aggression against outgroup conspecifics is an important aspect of intergroup relationships among female primates. Intense aggression from resident females toward immigrant females suggests that the costs of intrasexual competition outweigh the benefits of group living and has been reported in some species with female transfer. In bonobos (Pan paniscus), however, immigrant females are likely to integrate smoothly into an unfamiliar group through affiliative interactions with specific older females. We hypothesized that older resident females gain an indirect benefit from female immigration by increased mating opportunities for their philopatric sons. We examined the effects of 1) age and tenure and 2) the presence of adolescent or adult sons on the probability of aggression by resident females against immigrant females. We collected 73 instances of dyadic agonistic interactions between 14 female bonobos at Wamba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, for five different periods between November 2014 and June 2018, which included four immigrant females with a group tenure of <2.5 years. The female dominance hierarchy correlated with age and tenure, the slope of the hierarchy was weak but statistically significant, and the hierarchy was not linear. We found that the rate of aggression against immigrant females decreased with age in resident females but was unrelated to the presence of mature sons. Our findings suggest that the cost imposed by female immigration varies among resident females, and that social tolerance to immigrant females may be associated with low feeding competition rather than any future benefits.

Risk and protective family factors during childhood on youth violence among African American males: The role of mothers and nonresident fathers.

African American male youth experience disproportionately higher levels of violence. We examined parental depression among African American mothers and nonresident fathers on parenting stress and school involvement in their adolescent sons' school connectedness and violent behaviors. Using a longitudinal study design, parent factors were assessed when sons were 9 years old on youth outcomes at age 15. We found that maternal depression was associated with maternal stress, and maternal stress was indirectly associated with sons' violent behaviors through school connectedness. School involvement among nonresident fathers was positively associated with sons' school connectedness, which was linked to less youth violent behaviors. Maternal stress and nonresident fathers' school involvement are influential for understanding youth violence. Future interventions should incorporate a more nuanced approach when including family factors.

Do African American Male and Female Adolescents Differ in Technological Engagement?: The Effects of Parental Encouragement and Adolescent Technological Confidence

African Americans, especially African American women, remain one of the most underrepresented groups in technology-based degrees and careers. However, little is known about whether gender differences permeate African American adolescents’ engagement in technology in earlier development, such as in middle and high school (ages 12–18). Drawing on an ecological and intersectional framework, we examined if African American male and female adolescents differed in technological engagement and what contextual factors affected their engagement. We hypothesized that parental encouragement would be associated with greater technological confidence in adolescents, which would be linked to more experiences with and interests in technology. Further, we investigated if these associations would vary by adolescents’ and parents’ gender. Survey data from 1041 African American parent-adolescent dyads highlighted that adolescents had less experience and interest with technical activities than with creative activities, especially among female adolescents. More parents encouraged adolescent sons but limited daughters to use technology, yet female adolescents reported greater technological confidence. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that adolescents’ technological confidence mediated the positive association between parental encouragement and adolescents’ technological engagement across all parent-adolescent dyads, but with some nuances. Our findings suggest that prospective gender studies and educational programs should consider the influences of parenting and gender on promoting African American adolescents’ technological involvement and confidence.