City Research Online

Abstract

With the backdrop of 44% of marriages before age 18 in Nigeria, early sexual debut, poor uptake of contraceptives, and a high birth rate, the recent directive from the Ministry of Education to cease delivery of the Comprehensive Sexuality Curriculum (November 2022) further highlights the critical role of parents in adolescent sexual socialisation. Extant knowledge of parent-adolescent sex communication (PASC) is largely derived from mothers and girls’ perspectives missing the voices of fathers and boys as identified from a qualitative literature review in the Sub-Saharan context. Parents’ and adolescents’ experiences and preferences on PASC and the complexities and dynamics of adolescents’ sexual socialisation leave a major gap.

I provide new insight into the voices, processes, and contradictions of PASC and the relevance of other multi-level sexual and reproductive health (SRH) sources for adolescents’ sexual socialisation. I use an inductive qualitative research approach with focus group discussions and in-depth interviews to explore adolescents’ and parents’ views (n=67) supplemented by interviews with high-level decision makers (n=8), for instance, an adolescent health analyst for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), an Imo state health ministry staff, and a clergy member. The socio-ecological model of communication and behaviour change and Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory provided frameworks for conceptualising and interpreting the data.

Adolescents are keen to learn about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues from parents perceived as trusted and experienced sources, but for parents, religious beliefs, safety concerns and cultural norms dominate. Optimal timing, frequency and content are critical for effective PASC as adolescents appear to mirror parental ideologies. Gender normative roles are changing, with fathers more involved in PASC than previously and PASC is now more inclusive of boys. SRH service utilisation targets and current services do not meet need. I contribute empirically a theoretically informed framework for understanding the rationale for the timing and frequency of PASC, which provides insight into gender differences. The political, socio-ecological and technological domains, and micro- to macro-contextual factors exert opposing and facilitating forces that must be considered when designing adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH) policy and interventions.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services R Medicine > RT Nursing
Departments:	School of Health & Psychological Sciences > Nursing School of Health & Psychological Sciences > School of Health & Psychological Sciences Doctoral Theses Doctoral Theses

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