Sexuality Communication between the Clergy and Adolescents in Nakuru County, Kenya.

The study examines the sexuality communication between the clergy and adolescents in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study uses Systems theory anchored by Ludwing Von Bertalanffy (1969). Eighty students were sampled from ten secondary schools in Nakuru East and Njoro sub-counties representing both urban and rural teacher population. The schools included six same-sex secondary (three only boys and three only girls) schools and four mixed-sex secondary schools. The categories of the schools included two national schools, three extra-county schools, three county schools and two sub-county schools. The study used a self-administered questionnaire as a method of data collection, which was appropriate for collecting sensitive information such as sexual communication yet provide quantifiable data that can be used for statistical analysis. The schools were categorized from letter A to J. The results of this study showed that although the clergy engage the adolescents in some sexuality communication, the sexuality information communicated by the clergy was insufficient to help them manage the sexuality challenges they encounter. This is partly because adolescents did not consider their interests as fully taken into account since the clergy used strategies that were convenient for them, but failed to address the adolescents’ needs. The study suggested that clergy should be more accommodative of the views of the adolescents by considering the feedback regarding their interests and concerns. A good system will seek balance through interchanging with its environment and this comes through those feedback loops that enlighten the system on how or what to modify in order to maintain the system balance.

Sexuality Communication between Teachers and Adolescents in Nakuru County, Kenya.

This study investigated sexuality communication between teachers and adolescents in Nakuru County, Kenya. Thirty teachers were sampled from ten secondary schools in Nakuru East and Njoro sub-counties representing urban and rural teacher populations. These schools included six same-sex secondary (three only boys and three only girls) schools and four mixed-sex secondary schools. The schools' categories included two national schools, three extra-county schools, three county schools, and two sub-county schools. Three teachers were sampled from each school, including the guidance and counselling teacher who was purposively sampled. Two other teachers were randomly sampled, leading to thirty teachers. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The schools were categorized from letter A to J, and the teachers were coded as Teacher 1, Teacher 2, and Teacher 3. The results showed that teachers did offer some sexuality information, especially on HIV /AIDS and STIs, values and interpersonal skills, contraceptives, and unintended pregnancies, but were uncomfortable handling sexual variations and self-gratification topics. Time constraints due to high workload in teaching subjects, inadequate training, and societal taboos restricted sexuality communication. The findings show that efforts should be fostered to increase teacher training, especially in-service training in sexuality communication, to enhance teachers' capacity in delivering sexual health information to adolescents in secondary schools.

The Family System of Sexuality Communication: Extended Family Perceptions of Adolescent–Family Talk about Sex, with Sibling and Non-Sibling Comparison

Talk with parents and extended family about sex and relationships can support adolescents’ sexual health. However, few studies explore how parent and extended family communication with adolescents intersect. This study used thematic analysis to assess family roles in talk with teens about sex and relationships among a sample of 39 adult extended family members (such as aunts and uncles, and older siblings and cousins) in the United States. Analyses identified four themes in sexuality communication that address: why adolescents talk to extended family about sex and relationships, family engagement in these conversations, consistency of family messages, and family communication about adolescents. Findings identify variation in how family members interact with adolescents and one another regarding talk about sex and relationships. For example, some participants described family coordination of sexual messages to the teen, while others reported no family communication about this topic. Results also showed similarities and differences in how sibling and non-sibling extended family describe these processes. These findings identify the need to examine family talk about sex and relationships in the context of a larger family system, rather than only within dyadic relationships, and suggests possibilities for family-based interventions to support adolescents’ sexual health.

A Larger Ecology of Family Sexuality Communication: Extended Family Perspectives on Relationships, Sexual Orientation, and Positive Aspects of Sex

Extended family can be a resource for conversations about sex, but extended family perspectives have been largely left out of existing research. The present study investigates how extended family, such as aunts and uncles, siblings and cousins, perceive communication with teens in their families about sex. A thematic analysis was conducted with data from interviews in the U.S. with 39 extended family members, primarily siblings, who reported talk with teens in their families about sex. The analyses identified one theme focused on perspectives surrounding what is most important for teens to know about sex and relationships and seven themes focused on the content of conversations with teens about sex. The most prevalent content areas were: Healthy and Unhealthy Relationships (87%), Sexual Orientation (82%), Sexual Behavior (82%), and Protection (74%). The findings highlight extended family members’ unique roles in supporting the sexual health of teens in their families, which include providing information and support about issues other family members may not address, such as sexual orientation and the positive aspects of sex. The findings suggest the need to include extended family in sex education interventions to reflect the broader ecology of teens’ family relationships and access an underutilized resource for teens’ sexual health.

Extended-Family Talk about Sex and Teen Sexual Behavior

Research shows that family sexuality communication is protective for teens’ risky sexual behavior, but most studies on this topic focus exclusively on the parent–teen dyad. The few studies that assessed extended family sexuality communication use a single item to measure this communication and showed mixed results as to whether it is associated with sexual risk behaviors for teens. The current study included cross-sectional survey data from 952 teens in the 11th and 12th grades. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess associations between teens’ sexual risk behaviors and communication with extended family about protection methods, risks of sex and relational approaches to sex. Results showed that, for sexually active teens, talk about protection methods was associated with fewer sexual partners and talk about risks of sex was associated with more sexual partners, even after accounting for talk with parents about sex and controlling for teen gender, racial/ethnic background and mothers’ education. Results suggest that extended family talk with teens about sex might protect them from risky sexual behavior, over and above the effects of teen–parent communication. However, the direction of the effect depends on the content of the conversations. Talk about protection might support teens’ sexual health, while talk about risks of sex with teens who have already had sex, might not be effective. These findings suggest the need to explore whether and how extended family could be included in health prevention and intervention programs, which currently focus on parents.