Nearly twenty years after the publication of Michelle Fine's essay "Sexuality, Schooling, and Adolescent Females: The Missing Discourse of Desire," the question of how sexuality education influences the development and health of adolescents remains just as relevant as it was in 1988. In this article, Michelle Fine and Sara McClelland examine the federal promotion of curricula advocating abstinence only until marriage in public schools and, in particular, how these policies constrict the development of "thick desire" in young women. Their findings highlight the fact that national policies have an uneven impact on young people and disproportionately place the burden on girls, youth of color, teens with disabilities, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/ transgender youth. With these findings in mind, the authors provide a set of research guidelines to encourage researchers, policymakers, and advocates as they collect data on, develop curricula for, and change the contexts in which young people are educated about sexual...

Sexuality Education and Desire: Still Missing after All These Years.

The family plays an important and powerful role in the sexual socialization of children and adolescents. The information and messages that are (or are not) communicated between parents and children have the potential to shape sexual decision-making during adolescence, particularly related to HIV/AIDS risk behaviors. This paper presents a review and synthesis of three areas of the literature on parent-child communication about sexuality-content and process; predictors of parent-child communication; and behavioral outcomes associated with communication. Based on the review, gaps in the research and directions for future studies are discussed.

Parent-child communication about sexuality: A review of the literature from 1980-2002

Parental communication and youth sexual behaviour.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a theoretically based sex education programme for adolescents (SHARE) delivered by teachers reduced unsafe sexual intercourse compared with current practice. DESIGN: Cluster randomised trial with follow up two years after baseline (six months after intervention). A process evaluation investigated the delivery of sex education and broader features of each school. SETTING: Twenty five secondary schools in east Scotland. PARTICIPANTS: 8430 pupils aged 13-15 years; 7616 completed the baseline questionnaire and 5854 completed the two year follow up questionnaire. INTERVENTION: SHARE programme (intervention group) versus existing sex education (control programme). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self reported exposure to sexually transmitted disease, use of condoms and contraceptives at first and most recent sexual intercourse, and unwanted pregnancies. RESULTS: When the intervention group was compared with the conventional sex education group in an intention to treat analysis there were no differences in sexual activity or sexual risk taking by the age of 16 years. However, those in the intervention group reported less regret of first sexual intercourse with most recent partner (young men 9.9% difference, 95% confidence interval -18.7 to -1.0; young women 7.7% difference, -16.6 to 1.2). Pupils evaluated the intervention programme more positively, and their knowledge of sexual health improved. Lack of behavioural effect could not be linked to differential quality of delivery of intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with conventional sex education this specially designed intervention did not reduce sexual risk taking in adolescents.

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/324/7351/1430.full.pdf

Limits of teacher delivered sex education: interim behavioural outcomes from randomised trial

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a major public health problem among young people and can lead to the spread of HIV. Previous studies have primarily addressed barriers to STD care for symptomatic patients. The purpose of our study was to identify perceptions about existing barriers to and ideal services for STDs, especially asymptomatic screening, among young people in a southeastern community. Eight focus group discussions including 53 White, African American, and Latino youth (age 14–24) were conducted. Perceived barriers to care included lack of knowledge of STDs and available services, cost, shame associated with seeking services, long clinic waiting times, discrimination, and urethral specimen collection methods. Perceived features of ideal STD services included locations close to familiar places, extended hours, and urine-based screening. Television was perceived as the most effective route of disseminating STD information. Further research is warranted to evaluate improving convenience, efficiency, and privacy of existing services; adding urine-based screening and new services closer to neighborhoods; and using mass media to disseminate STD information as strategies to increase STD screening.

/pdf/barriers-to-asymptomatic-screening-and-other-std-services-4qzn9vgs90.pdf

Barriers to asymptomatic screening and other STD services for adolescents and young adults: focus group discussions

This article reviews numerous studies of parent-adolescent communication about sexuality and 30 studies of sexuality and HIV education programs. Although parent-adolescent communication about sexuality has increased during the last few decades, both the occurrence and the quality of this communication could still be greatly improved. There does not exist a clear simple relationship between greater parent-adolescent communication and less adolescent risk-taking behavior, but both adults and youth believe it is important anyway. Sexuality and HIV education programs do not increase any measure of sexual activity, but some of them with ten common characteristics do reduce sexual risk-taking, either by delaying or reducing sexual behavior or increasing condom use. Thus, these programs can be an effective component in a larger initiative to reduce HIV, other STDs, and unplanned pregnancy in adolescence.

D Kirby

Papers

Sexuality and sex education at home and school.