How Do Parents Teach "No Means No"? An Exploration of How Sexual Consent Beliefs Are Socialized During Adolescence

Sexual Passion in Adolescence: Examining Its Transmission Through Mothers

Sexual passion is an important element of adult romantic relationships, but little is known about how it is developed or expressed during adolescence. From a Self Determination Theory perspective, this study explored the connections between parents' sexual passion and children's sexual passion, and whether these links were mediated by parents' communication about sexuality with their children. Using a diverse sample of 484 mother-adolescent dyads (Mage = 14.48, SD = 1.68, 50% female, 56% White), we specified a path model in a Structural Equation Modeling framework to test hypothesized associations. Results indicated that all three types of parent sexual passion - harmonious, obsessive, and inhibited - were positively associated with children's sexual passion in the same domains. Additionally, the frequency of parent-child sexual communication partially mediated the transmission of harmonious passion, whereas controlling parent-child sexual communication partially mediated the transmission of obsessive passion. These findings highlight the importance of parents' sexual relationships in the sexual socialization and development of adolescents. Additionally, helping parents to have more frequent conversations about sex with their children could help facilitate the transmission of harmonious sexual passion.

Exploring the Influence of Romantic Relationship Communication on Adolescents' Self-Efficacy to Ask for Sexual Consent

Adolescence represents a crucial period for sexual and romantic relationship development, and acquisition of skills and confidence essential for effective sexual consent communication. However, various barriers may interfere with adolescents' belief in their ability (i.e., their self-efficacy) to negotiate consent in practice. This study aimed to investigate the state of adolescents' self-efficacy to ask for consent and explore the influence of romantic relationship communication (a construct comprised of three characteristics: relationship assertiveness skills, positive conflict resolution, and communication awkwardness). Participants were 411 adolescents who had current or past relationships (61% girls, 77% Latine, 79% heterosexual). Participants generally reported above-average levels of self-efficacy to ask for consent (M = 4.14 out of 7, SD = 1.24), with LGBQ+ adolescents exhibiting statistically significantly higher levels of self-efficacy compared to heterosexual adolescents (M = 4.51 vs. 4.09, t = -2.66, p = .008). Self-efficacy to ask for consent was positively individually related to positive conflict resolution and relationship assertiveness skills, and negatively related to communication awkwardness (all ps < .001). In a path model, romantic relationship communication displayed a statistically significant association with adolescents' self-efficacy to ask for consent, with high positive conflict resolution, low communication awkwardness, and high relationship assertiveness skills being associated with higher self-efficacy to ask for consent. Findings suggest improving adolescents' romantic communication skills may enhance their self-efficacy to ask for consent, and contribute to increased rates of sexual consent communication. Intervention strategies should target multiple levels of influence to promote positive consent cognitions, behaviors, and cultural norms.

Asking for Verbal Sexual Consent and Experiences of Sexual Violence and Sexual Behaviors Among High School Students - Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023

Adolescents' sexual consent behaviors are critical for developing healthy sexual relationships and preventing experiences of sexual violence. This report uses 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data to describe prevalence of asking for sexual consent verbally at last sexual contact among U.S. high school students. Differences in prevalence of asking for sexual consent verbally by sex, age, race and ethnicity, sexual identity, sex of sexual contacts, and gender identity were examined. Differences in asking for sexual consent verbally also were examined by experiences of sexual violence and sexual behaviors. Sex-stratified logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between asking for sexual consent verbally with experiences of sexual violence and sexual behaviors. In addition, data were analyzed using adjusted logistic regression models controlling for age, race and ethnicity, and sexual identity. Among high school students who reported ever having sexual contact, 79.8% reported asking for sexual consent verbally at last sexual contact. A lower percentage of female students (74.5%) reported asking for sexual consent verbally than male students (84.6%). In adjusted sex-stratified analyses, female students who asked for sexual consent verbally had higher prevalence of ever having had sexual intercourse. Male students who asked for sexual consent verbally had higher prevalence of ever having had sexual intercourse and being currently sexually active. Female and male students who asked for sexual consent verbally had higher prevalence of having first sexual intercourse before age 13 and using condoms. In addition, female students who asked for sexual consent verbally during last sexual intercourse had lower prevalence of using alcohol or drugs at last sexual intercourse. Public health researchers and practitioners, health care providers, schools, and youth-serving organizations can use these findings to better understand high school students' verbal sexual consent, improve complex measurement of consent-seeking behaviors, and guide multicomponent sexual health and violence prevention efforts across various settings.

PACT: Developing and Evaluating a Digital Sexual Consent Program for Youth

Understanding affirmative sexual consent is crucial for violence prevention and health promotion, yet few adolescents receive adequate consent education. The current study aimed to evaluate the acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a brief online program designed to teach adolescents information and skills about communicating and interpreting affirmative sexual consent (PACT: Promoting Affirmative Consent among Teens) in a randomized controlled trial with a national sample of 833 U.S. adolescents (ages 14-16; 42% White, 17% Asian, 17% Black, 13% Latinx; 53% girls, 31% boys, 12% non-binary; 45% heterosexual; 29% sexually active). PACT, grounded in health behavior change and persuasion theories, was developed using feedback from youth advisors and usability testers. Participants considered the program generally acceptable. Compared to youth who completed a control program, PACT was efficacious at shifting three measures of affirmative consent cognitions (i.e., knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy) from baseline to immediate posttest. Youth who completed PACT also demonstrated more accurate affirmative consent knowledge at 3 months post-baseline. PACT's effects on consent cognitions were generally similar among youth with various gender, racial/ethnic, and sexual identities. We discuss next steps for this program, including the possibilities of expanding to include additional concepts and tailoring to address the unique needs of specific youth.

Sexual Consent Norms in a Sexually Diverse Sample

Sexual consent has received increased attention in mainstream media, educational, and political settings since the rise of the #MeToo movement in 2017. However, long before #MeToo, sexual consent has been a core practice among people who engage in Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, Sadism, and Masochism (BDSM). This study examined sexual consent norms among a sexually diverse sample, including people who practice BDSM (n = 116), people who identify with another sexual minority group, such as swingers and sex workers (n = 114), and people who did not identify with a sexual minority group, termed sexual majority group members (n = 158). Explicit consent for both BDSM- and non-BDSM-related activities was rated as more common (descriptively normative) among people who were a member of the BDSM community compared to majority participants. Further, BDSM participants rated consent discussions as less sexually disruptive compared to majority participants. We found no significant group differences in the extent to which people thought sexual consent should be discussed. We also discuss findings from an open-ended question asking participants to recall a recent sexual experience with a new partner. This study demonstrates variability in consent norms between groups and points to the potential to shift sexual consent behaviors among majority participants.

Sexual Consent on Television: Differing Portrayal Effects on Adolescent Viewers

We conducted two studies to examine the portrayal of sexual consent and refusal in adolescent-directed programing and the effects of viewing this content on adolescents. In a quantitative content analysis, nonverbal consent cues were more prevalent than verbal consent cues. The presence of consent cues did not significantly differ by character gender, relationship status, or sexual behavior. Using a three-way between-subjects experiment, we examined the influence of exposure to media depictions of verbal sexual consent on adolescents' intentions to seek verbal sexual consent (n = 402, 61.4% girls, ages 12-18, M = 15.8, SD = 2.1). Exposure to verbal consent positively influenced intentions to seek verbal consent via increased positive attitudes toward women. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

"I put it all out there. I have nothing to hide. It's my mom": Parents' and Emerging Adults' Perspectives on Family Talk about Sex

Protective effects of talk with parents about sex, for delaying sex and reducing young people's risky sexual behaviour may extend from adolescence to emerging adulthood. However, little is known about the content and process of this communication, or how parents and their emerging adult children perceive their conversations about sex and relationships. This study offers a novel exploration of family talk about sex during emerging adulthood and addresses topics that are not typically assessed as part of communication research, such as consent and positive talk about sexuality. This study uses thematic analysis to investigate perceptions of family talk about sex in a qualitative sample of 16 pairs of parents and their emerging adult children in the USA, and includes talk about protection, sexual behaviour, pregnancy and parenting; the positive aspects of sex; consent; and sexual orientation. Findings identified variation across topics in terms of 1) similarities and differences in parents' and emerging adults' comfort in talking with each other about sexual topics; and 2) how they perceive this communication across a range of sexual issues. Findings can inform the development of resources to support parents on how to talk with their emerging adult children about sexual issues in a developmentally appropriate way.

Parents' Psychopathology Promotes the Adoption of Ineffective Pornography-Related Parenting Mediation Strategies

Approximately half of all adolescents aged 9-16 are exposed to pornography. Research has indicated that parents often try to employ various mediating strategies (negative active, restriction and co-use) in order to regulate their children's exposure to undesired content, and that most of these strategies are ineffective or have the opposite effect. In the present study, we investigated whether parental psychopathology (depression, anxiety, stress) promotes the adoption of less optimal parenting styles and an ineffective mediating strategy to regulate their child pornography exposure. The sample comprised 1,070 Jewish-Israeli parents to 10-14-year-old adolescents. Results indicated that for parents who characterized with mild anxiety and/or stress tend to adopte more authoritarian and less authoritative parenting style, which were linked with more ineffective mediating strategies with their child regarding pornography exposure - restrictive and negative active. These findings provide an opportunity for therapists as well as parents to gain a better insight into the link between psychopathology, parenting styles and the ability to regulate pornography exposure among children.