Table 3.
Parenting attitudes and behaviors regarding adolescent sexualitya.
| All | Male caregivers | Female caregivers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents | 77 (100%) | 37 (100%) | 40 (100%) |
| Ever talked with fifth- or sixth-grader about sex?** | |||
| Yes | 47 (61%) | 14 (47%) | 33 (87%) |
| Who should be responsible for talking with child about sex? | |||
| Parents* | 73 (95%) | 33 (89%) | 40 (100%) |
| Older relatives | 16 (21%) | 8 (22%) | 8 (20%) |
| Peers | 7 (9%) | 3 (8%) | 4 (10%) |
| Doctors or nurses | 28 (36%) | 12 (32%) | 16 (40%) |
| Schools | 30 (39%) | 16 (43%) | 14 (35%) |
| Community groups | 19 (25%) | 10 (27%) | 9 (23%) |
| TV/radio/magazines | 15 (20%) | 10 (27%) | 5 (13%) |
| No one | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) |
| Age would like your male children to be when first get information about sexb | |||
| Less than 9 years | 10 (18%) | 7 (24%) | 3 (11%) |
| 9–10 years | 18 (32%) | 6 (21%) | 12 (43%) |
| 11–12 years | 18 (32%) | 10 (35%) | 8 (29%) |
| 13 years or older | 11 (19%) | 6 (21%) | 5 (18%) |
| Age would like your female children to be when first get information about sexc | |||
| Less than 9 years | 16 (25%) | 8 (27%) | 8 (23%) |
| 9–10 years | 19 (29%) | 8 (27%) | 11 (31%) |
| 11–12 years | 23 (35%) | 9 (30%) | 14 (40%) |
| 13 years or older | 7 (11%) | 5 (17%) | 2 (6%) |
| Age would like your male children to be when first have sexd | |||
| 16 years or younger | 11 (23%) | 5 (19%) | 6 (27%) |
| 17–18 years | 14 (29%) | 7 (26%) | 7 (32%) |
| 19–20 years | 9 (18%) | 5 (19%) | 4 (18%) |
| 21 years or older | 15 (31%) | 10 (37%) | 5 (22%) |
| Age would like your female children to be when first have sexe | |||
| 16 years or younger | 7 (12%) | 4 (13%) | 3 (10%) |
| 17–18 years | 11 (18%) | 5 (17%) | 6 (19%) |
| 19–20 years | 9 (15%) | 4 (13%) | 5 (16%) |
| 21 years or older | 24 (56%) | 17 (57%) | 17 (55%) |
| Think you would know if your fifth- or sixth-grader was having sex? | |||
| Yes | 38 (52%) | 17 (52%) | 21 (53%) |
| No | 8 (11%) | 4 (12%) | 4 (10%) |
| Not sure | 27 (37%) | 12 (36%) | 15 (38%) |
| How would you feel if found out your fifth- or sixth-grader was having sex? | |||
| It would be okay | 7 (10%) | 2 (6%) | 5 (13%) |
| I would disapprove or wouldn’t caref | 66 (90%) | 31 (94%) | 35 (88%) |
Note: Data presented as n (%).
A total of 77 participants completed questionnaires. Some questions were not answered by all participants; the number of cases for these items sum to fewer than 77. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
The total number of cases sums to 57; an additional 10 parents answered that they did not have male children, and 10 did not answer the question.
The total number of cases sums to 65; an additional eight parents answered that they did not have female children, and four did not answer the question.
The total number of cases sum to 49; an additional 11 parents answered that they did not have male children, and 17 did not answer the question.
The total number of cases sum to 61; an additional seven parents answered that they did not have female children, and nine did not answer the question.
Only one parent answered ‘I wouldn’t care’.
p<0.05
p<0.01.