ERIC Number: EJ1405667
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1468-1811
EISSN: EISSN-1472-0825
Parents' Attitudes towards the Content of Sex Education in the USA: Associations with Religiosity and Political Orientation
Jeffrey L. Hurst; Laura Widman; Julia Brasileiro; Anne J. Maheux; Reina Evans-Paulson; Sophia Choukas-Bradley
Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning, v24 n1 p108-124 2024
While most parents support their adolescents receiving school-based sex education, there is variability in which sex education topics receive the most support from parents. Conservative political orientation and greater religiosity have been independently associated with parents' lack of support for school-based sex education; however, no studies have examined the intersection of these two factors. The three goals of this study were to: 1) identify how specific sexual education topics cluster together to form content areas; 2) examine if religiosity and political orientation are uniquely associated with these content areas; and 3) examine if political orientation moderates the relationship between parents' religiosity and their perceived importance for the specific sex education content areas. Participants were a national sample of 881 US parents. The sex education topics clustered into three content areas: Factual Knowledge (e.g., STI transmission), Practical Skills (e.g., how to access condoms), and Pleasure and Identity (e.g., pleasurable aspects of sex). Politically conservative and more religious parents reported the lowest perceived importance for each content area. Importantly, these main effects were qualified by a significant interaction: parents who reported both political conservativism and high levels of religiosity reported the lowest perceived importance for these three content areas being taught.
Descriptors: Parent Attitudes, Political Attitudes, Sex Education, Religious Factors, Correlation, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Contraception, Self Concept, Sexuality, Course Content, Elementary Secondary Education
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (DHHS/NIH); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1F31MH126763; 1940700