Community perception and attitudes towards parent- young people communication and sexual behaviors in E/Wollega Zone, West Ethiopia

Abstract

Though it is believed that parent-child communication about SRH can significantly affect young people’s sexual behaviour, many parents do not communicate with their children about sex. The aim of this study was to describe parent-young people's communication about sexual and reproductive health, contents, and attitudes towards the various aspects of young people’s SRH. To examine parent-young people communication about SRH among 10–24-year-old in-and-out-of-school young people, this study employed 13 focus group discussions among purposefully selected young people, parents, and teachers from May 15–26, 2020. The FGDs were tape-recorded, transcribed, and translated verbatim. Then they were coded and categorised into emergent themes by the researcher using Open Code 3.4. The findings indicated that parent-young people communication about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) occurs rarely and infrequently. When it occurs, it takes the form of a warning, a threat, or a rebuke. Communication is not a regular undertaking; rather, it is usually triggered by the occurrence of some SRH-related problems like unwanted premarital pregnancy, abortion, or HIV/AIDS happening to the neighbor’s youth or hearing such problems in the media. Important communication barriers were identified that can be categorised into three main themes: embarrassment, lack of necessary knowledge, and cultural taboos (intergenerational influence) related to sexual and reproductive health. Policies and programmes related to young people’s SRH should target parents to enhance their knowledge about SRH and promote parent-young people communication, breaking cultural silence.