Home-based sex communication, school coverage of sex, and problems in sexual functioning among adolescents

Young people experience problems in sexual functioning at high rates. Sexual health education (SHE) has been found to reduce risk for negative outcomes, yet research has not addressed how SHE is related to problems in sexual functioning among adolescents. The current study assessed how perceived quality of sexual education at home and quality of coverage of sexual health topics in school are related to sexual functioning among adolescents. Adolescents (N = 411, 16–21 years) completed measures of sexual functioning and related distress, sexual self-esteem, and school SHE and home-based sex communication. Lower sexual-self-esteem was related to higher odds of reporting a sexual problem as well as more distress about these problems. After controlling for sexual self-esteem, higher perceived quality of home-based communication with parents about sex was associated with lower odds of having one or more sexual problems (OR = .80), but higher odds of having distressing sexual problems (OR = 1.51) for male adolescents only. Quality of coverage of sex topics in SHE was unrelated. These findings suggest that home-based sex communication for male adolescents may be important for experiencing problems overall, but also may contribute to heightened distress should a problem occur. Results are discussed in terms of differential socialization by parents in communicating with sons and daughters about sex.