Influence of Family Background Characteristics on Parent-Child Sexual Health Communication in South-West Nigeria
- December 21, 2020
- Posted by: RSIS Team
- Categories: IJRISS, Sociology
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue XII, December 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186
OLUSANYA Oyewole Omoniyi
Department of Sociology Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria
Abstract Adolescents’ sexual health has become a global public health concern especially in the developing countries. Undoubtedly, parent-child communication remains a vital means by which parents transmit cultural values and monitor the sexual health of their children. Indeed, the extent and the quality of the manner in which parents are involved in their children’s lives are critical factors in the prevention of sexual risk-taking behaviour among adolescents. This paper investigated the influence of parents knowledge, occupation and religion on their communication of sexual health issues with their adolescents among parents in South West Nigeria. The study elicited information from 721 selected respondents, comprising fathers and mothers who had at least, an adolescent in the household; through a multi-stage sampling technique. The study found that most respondents, 78.2% had proper perception of sexual health communication. Parent-child sexual health communication was significantly associated with parents’ occupation (χ2=7.212), and religion (χ2= 6.850). In addition, being self-employed and traditional religion were significant predictors of parent-child sexual health communication in their reference category (OR=0.651, P =0.030<0.05 and OR=0.26, P =0.028<0.05 respectively). Socio-cultural factors still greatly impedes parent-child sexual health communication, despite parents’ proper perception of the need for it. Emerging interventions by all stakeholders need to focus on repositioning parents for early positive parent-child family conversations on sexual health issues coupled with work life and involvement in religious activities that promote parents’ physical and mental preparedness for communication on sexual health
Key words: Parent, Parent-Child Communication, Adolescents, Sexual Health and South West Nigeria.
I. INTRODUCTION
The extent and the manner in which parents are involved in their children’s lives are crucial in the overall development of a child and prevention of sexual risk-taking behaviour among adolescents because children are born into the family and their learning process which includes their sexuality begins from there; therefore the family is a central agent of socialization in the adolescents’ life course (Fingerson, 2005). Communication is vital in all learning process; parent-child communication is indispensible in the monitoring of the sexual health (SH) of adolescents. Communication can be verbal communication (face-to-face, telephone, and media), non-verbal (body language, sign language, eye contact, gestures and how one dresses or act) and written communication (letters, e-mails, books, magazines, the Internet or via other media).
