Barriers to the father-adolescent sexual communication: Findings from a cross-sectional study in Iran

Background: Most studies on parent-adolescent sexual communication have been conducted on mothers, whilst fathers' participation in this issue has not been adequately addressed. Hence, this study aimed to determine the barriers to sexual communication between fathers and adolescents. Methods This cross-sectional study was performed on 196 parents of adolescents aged 15 to 19 from August 2020 to January 2021 in northern Iran. A socio-demographic medical information form, the parent-adolescent sexual communication barriers questionnaire, and the sexual communication topics between parents and adolescents were used to gather information. A logistic regression test was administered using SPSS-26 to determine the barriers to sexual communication. Results The prevalence of father-girl sexual communication (51.1%) was lower than that of father-boy sexual communication (55.8%). The most frequent barriers to fathers' sexual communication with both genders were the adolescent's embarrassment and the possibility of provoking their curiosity about sex. The logistic regressions showed that adolescents' embarrassment and conveying not trusting them and approving of them having sex were barriers to father-adolescent sexual communication. Conversely, adolescents asking more private questions were positive predictors of father-adolescent sexual conversation. Conclusion Father-adolescent communication is one of the most critical aspects of parenting, though not an easy one. There is a need to develop appropriate interventions for empowering fathers to communicate with their adolescents about various sexual issues.