An examination of the effects of parent-child sexual discussion on the college-age student's sexual attitudes, behaviors, and histories

This study determined the effect of parent-child sexual discussion on self-esteem and age of first voluntary sexual intercourse. This study also determined the effect of self-esteem on number of sexual partners and the effect of age of first sexual intercourse on level of satisfaction with present sex life. A sample of male and female college students (N=37) from a large southeastern university was administered the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory and a sexual behavior/attitude questionnaire. The Goodman's and Kruskal's Gamma test for significance was used to test the four hypotheses and all were found significant (at p > .05). The findings indicated: as parent-child sexual discussion increases so does self-esteem and age of first sexual intercourse; as self-esteem increases, number of sexual partners decreases; and as age of first sexual intercourse increases, level of satisfaction with present sex life also increases. Implications for practice focused on family and parental education regarding communication.