Receipt of sexual health information from parents, teachers, and healthcare providers by sexually experienced U.S. adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To describe the extent to which sexually experienced adolescents in the United States receive sexual health information (SHI) from multiple of three sources: parents, teachers, and healthcare providers.

Design: Descriptive analysis.

Setting: 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth.

Participants: Heterosexually experienced, unmarried/non-cohabiting females (n = 875) and males (n = 1,026) ages 15-19 years.

Main outcome measures: Self-reported receipt of birth control, sexually transmitted infection/human immunodeficiency virus (STI/HIV), and condom information from parents, teachers, and healthcare providers.

Results: Parent and teacher SHI sources were reported by 55% and 43% of sexually experienced female and male adolescents, respectively, for birth control information; and by 59% and 66%, respectively, for STI/HIV information. For sexually experienced adolescents reporting both parent and teacher sources, about one-third also reported healthcare provider as a source of birth control information, and one-quarter of females and one-third of males reported a healthcare provider as a source of STI/HIV information, respectively. For sexually experienced adolescents reporting no SHI from either parent or teacher sources, only one in ten reported healthcare providers as a source of birth control information, with a similar proportion reporting healthcare providers as a source of STI/HIV information. SHI receipt was found to vary by gender with more females than males reporting birth control information receipt from parents and teachers, and about one in six males reporting no birth control or condom information receipt from either source.

Conclusions: Study findings highlight gaps in sexual health information receipt from parents, teachers, and healthcare providers among sexually experienced adolescents, as well as gender differences across information sources.

Keywords: Sex education; Sex information; Sexual development.