Communicating with Children about Sexuality: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Brief Parenting Discussion Group

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a brief, group-based parenting intervention for parents of children aged three to 10 years, in improving parental communication about sexuality with their children. A 2 (intervention vs. control) by 3 (baseline, 4-week follow-up, 3-month follow-up) design was used, with parents randomly allocated to intervention or control groups. The intervention comprised of a single session, two-hour parent discussion group on how to positively communicate to children about sexuality. Parental behaviours, self-efficacy, beliefs, and attitudes about sexuality communication were the primary outcome measures. Secondary outcome measures included parental knowledge, parental comfort, child behaviours, and observed sexuality communication. 117 parents completed assessment measures across three time-points and their data were used in the final analyses. Parents in the intervention group reported (i) greater sexuality teaching behaviours; (ii) increased self-efficacy in using sexuality teaching strategies; and (iii) decreased negative beliefs and attitudes about child sexuality communication, relative to parents in the control group, at the 4-week and 3-month follow-ups. No significant differences between parents in the two groups were found on parental knowledge, parental comfort, and child behaviours. Observational data indicated significant intervention effects only on parents’ encouraging responses to their child’s sexuality questions. These findings provide initial support for a brief parenting discussion group in improving sexuality communication between parents and children. Further research is needed to expand on the generalisability of the present study’s findings. Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000459527