June 17th, 2016
According to latest data reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is observed that young teens are at high risk of developing sexually transmitted infections due to unprotected sexual activity. Besides STIs, unprotected sex is also responsible for teen pregnancy, high school dropouts and other related teen issues.
Adolescence is a sensitive and challenging period for most teens. This is partly due to puberty related physical and biochemical changes and partly due to sexual curiosity and experimental nature of teens. Experts suggests that active interaction with parents can make this transitional period smoother and trouble-free for most teens.
According to a survey conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Seventeen Magazine on the sexual health communication between parents and young adolescents (15- to 17-years); following important inferences were drawn (1):
Teens shared their reasons why they feel uncomfortable in discussing sex related questions with their parents at the end of survey; according to which most common culprits of poor communication on sexual health issues are:
Most parents are under the misconception that discussing sex with teens can evoke their curiosity and entice them to engage in the first-hand experience or sexual encounters, which is not true. Several clinical and independent surveys suggests that effective parent-adolescent communication on sexual health have positive long-term implications. For example parental discussion of safe sex and condom use prior to initiating sexual encounters is associated with high condom use in teens (2), which reduces the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases as well as unwanted teen pregnancies.
Parents should realize that:
And in short how to live a healthy, productive and disease free life.
1. Communication: A Series of National Surveys of Teens about Sex. Menlo Park, CA: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002.
2. Miller KS et al. Patterns of condom use among adolescents: the impact of mother-adolescent communication. Amer J Public Health 1998; 88:1542-44.
3. Zakrajsek, J. S., Shope, J. T., Greenspan, A. I., Wang, J., Bingham, C. R., & Simons-Morton, B. G. (2013). Effectiveness of a brief parent-directed teen driver safety intervention (Checkpoints) delivered by driver education instructors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(1), 27-33.
4. Lindberg, L. D., & Maddow-Zimet, I. (2012). Consequences of sex education on teen and young adult sexual behaviors and outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51(4), 332-338.
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