Do Say Gay: Inclusive Sexuality Discussions for Out, Closeted, Questioning, and Straight Youth.
Dalmacio D Flores, J Lloyd Allen, Jacqueline A Bannon
PMID 36088221WHAT IT FOUND
GBQ male teens and young adults said inclusive parent talks about sex helped them feel accepted, even before coming out.
They wanted parents to mention same-sex attraction as normal, avoid interrogation, and keep communication open.
Key findings
01Participants said inclusive parent-child sex talks felt affirming and showed parental concern, even when parents lacked LGBTQ knowledge.
02Participants said inclusive talks could let questioning or closeted sons sense parental acceptance, reduce anxiety, and explore identity without interrogation.
03Participants said inclusive sex communication could help heterosexual children normalize same-sex attraction and reduce ignorance or insensitivity.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used purposive and snowball sampling, so participants may not represent all GBQ male adolescents. It included only 30 English-speaking cisgender males aged 15 to 20 years from one southern U.S. city, and most had already come out to parents (26 of 30). The findings are retrospective recollections of parent-child conversations, not observations of current family communication. No outcomes were measured, so the paper does not show that inclusive sex communication changes mental health, HIV risk, or family relationships. The themes come from a qualitative analysis, so they report participants' perspectives rather than tested effects.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that inclusive parent-child sex communication has been shown to improve adolescent mental health or reduce HIV risk. This paper reports what 30 GBQ male participants said about remembered conversations, not the results of a tested intervention.