Family Sex Communication Among Arab American Young Adults: A Mixed-Methods Study.
Sarah Abboud, Dalmacio D Flores, Keosha Bond and 3 others
PMID 34694172WHAT IT FOUND
Family sex communication was not linked to Arab American young adults' sexual attitudes, but it was rare and gendered: 61% reported some/a little, and 10 of 15 topics were never discussed by over half.
Key findings
01Most participants reported only some or a little information from parents about sex, and 10 of 15 sex topics were never discussed by more than half.
02No link was found between family sex communication and sexual attitudes, with p-values from .22 to .48.
03Friends (79%) and the internet (72%) were the most common sources of sex-related information, while parents were second to last (27%).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Convenience and snowball sampling may have recruited people already comfortable discussing sexuality. The sample was limited by size, all focus groups in Philadelphia, and English-only data collection, so it may not represent Arab Americans who do not speak English or live elsewhere. Most participants identified as heterosexual and cisgender, so the study says little about sexual minority experiences. The survey focused on risk topics and did not cover protective behaviors, intimacy, or sexual pleasure. Some measures had not been used previously with an Arab sample, and the double standards scale had lower reliability. Participants recalled communication from middle adolescence, so responses may be over-reported or under-reported. Only young adults were interviewed; parents' perspectives were not captured. The study was observational, so it cannot show that family sex communication causes or changes sexual attitudes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving family sex communication will change sexual attitudes. The study found no significant association between family sex communication and sexual attitudes, with p-values from .22 to .48.