14 DAY TRIAL // The responsibility for educating your boy gets even heavier with the teenagers.
A new research about sexual communication and teenage boys led at the University of Michigan reveals that parental communication, in the rare cases where this happens, focuses on the negative sides of sex compared to mostly positive sexual information the boys achieve from the media and their peers.
286 male undergraduates aged 18-24 were put to recall which factor influenced them most regarding their sexual education, with details about different aspects.
The aim of the research was to see the difference in the information received from parents, peers and the media and how this information from different sources was valued by the subject. The study showed that the information offered by most parents was scarce and contrasted significantly to that achieved by peers and the media.
Parents insisted mostly on abstinence and came mainly with data about pregnancy and fertilization. All this information was the least valued and abstinence is known as a failure in promoting sexual education.
The peers came with a model of non-relational sex and offered patterns of dating and sexual behavior, including how to match the last tendencies.
The media promoted the strongest sexual stereotypes and sexual freedom. Of course, in the case of each subject, the three sources varied greatly. The media also delivered the biggest amount of information on AIDS, STDs and condoms.
All three sources did not offer any information on love and homosexuality.
Researchers warn that the survey leaves some questions unanswered: How can young men make the right choices among these conflicting ideas? Why do they ignore their parents' advice and seek the advice of their peers and the media? Which sources are the most influential?
Once we know the answers, parents could better influence the young in avoiding the unhealthy stereotypes promoted by peers and media.