The Effect of Social Location, Parental Communication About Sex, and Formal Sexual Education on Protective Sexual Behaviors
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Sociology Dissertations Department of Sociology Spring 5-10-2017 Mixed Messages: The Effect of Social Location, Parental Communication About Sex, and Formal Sexual Education on Protective Sexual Behaviors Eryn G. Viscarra Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss Recommended Citation Viscarra, Eryn G., "Mixed Messages: The Effect of Social Location, Parental Communication About Sex, and Formal Sexual Education on Protective Sexual Behaviors." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2017. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss/97 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Sociology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MIXED MESSAGES: THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL LOCATION, PARENTAL COMMUNICATION ABOUT SEX, AND FORMAL SEXUAL EDUCATION ON PROTECTIVE SEXUAL BEHAVIORS by ERYN GRUCZA VISCARRA Under the Direction of James Ainsworth, PhD ABSTRACT This dissertation tests if a young adult’s social location determines what type of information he or she will receive about sexual health from parents and formal sexual education programs. I also test whether sexual education mediates direct associations between social location and 4 protective sexual health behaviors: condom communication, consistent condom use, delaying sexual debut, and reducing the number of lifetime sexual partners. Using the 2011- 2013 wave of the National Survey of Family Growth, I look for differences in sexual education and engaging in protective sexual health behaviors among white, Hispanic, and African American men and women ages 15-24. I find that communication about sex from parents and formal sex education programs varies by race and gender. I also find that direct associations exist between social location, parental communication, formal sexual education, and protective sexual health behaviors. However, all of these operate independently from one another, and I find that parental communication and formal sexual education does little to mediate the direct associations between social location and protective sexual behaviors. Policy implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed. INDEX WORDS: social location, race, gender, parental communication, formal sexual education, self-silencing, condom use, sexual debut, sexual partners MIXED MESSAGES: THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL LOCATION, PARENTAL COMMUNICATION ABOUT SEX, AND FORMAL SEXUAL EDUCATION ON PROTECTIVE SEXUAL BEHAVIORS by ERYN GRUCZA VISCARRA A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2017 Copyright by Eryn Grucza Viscarra 2017 MIXED MESSAGES: THE EFFECT OF SOCIAL LOCATION, PARENTAL COMMUNICATION ABOUT SEX, AND FORMAL SEXUAL EDUCATION ON PROTECTIVE SEXUAL BEHAVIORS by ERYN GRUCZA VISCARRA Committee Chair: James Ainsworth Committee: Eric R. Wright Daniel Carlson Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2017 iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the loves of my life. To my husband, Carlos, who has always supported me—no matter what. When we first met, you referred to me as “your little professor.” 13 years later, with your love, help, and support, I actually made it a reality. I love you. To my daughters, Emmy and Elly, who are the reason I keep going. Please believe that even though something seems impossible, you can achieve it. I love you, my sweet babies! I also dedicate this dissertation to two people who are gone, but not forgotten. They have made an immeasurable impact on my life and my career, and I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today without them. First, to my grandmother, Kathryn Benak, who first inspired me to stand up for myself and to know that women can achieve anything. Also, to Dr. Raj Mohan who encouraged me to keep going. One day, you told me that I’d make a hell of a sociologist. I hope I have made you proud. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my chair, Jim Ainsworth, for his support, advice, and encouragement throughout the dissertation process. I would have never made it without you! I would also like to thank my committee members, Eric Wright and Dan Carlson, for their feedback and encouragement. I would also like to thank my parents, Dan Grucza and Linda Winnett for their love and support from the beginning. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thank you to my grad school biffles, Ana LaBoy, Leah Kozee Youngblood, and Brandon Attell. I would have never made it through graduate school—especially the trifecta of doom, also known as fall 2013—without your friendship. Also, a big thanks to the $10.89 box of red wine at Aldi and my 1980s Spotify playlist. Without these things, I would have given up after chapter 1. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ V LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 6 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 7 1.1 Sexual and Reproductive Health Disparities Within and Across Cultures ... 8 1.1.1 Unintended Pregnancy ................................................................................... 8 1.1.2 Chlamydia........................................................................................................ 9 1.1.3 HIV ................................................................................................................ 10 1.1.4 Racial, Ethnic and Gender Inequality and Its Impact on Sexual Health in the United States ................................................................................................................... 11 1.2 Racial, Ethnic and Gender Inequality and Its Impact on Sexual Health in the United States ...................................................................................................................... 13 1.2.1 Protective Behaviors ..................................................................................... 15 1.2.2 Condom Communication .............................................................................. 15 1.2.3 Consistent Condom Use ................................................................................ 17 1.2.4 Delaying Sexual Debut ................................................................................. 18 1.2.5 Reducing the Number of Lifetime Sexual Partners .................................... 20 1.3 Inadequate Formal and Informal Sexual Education for Youth ................... 21 1.4 Theoretical Perspective—Intersectionality Theory ....................................... 25 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 28 2 2.1 Formal Sexual Education in Schools ............................................................... 28 2.1.1 The History of Sexual Education in America .............................................. 28 2.1.2 Sex Education: Reinforcing Inequalities ..................................................... 34 2.1.3 Outcomes ....................................................................................................... 39 2.2 Parents ................................................................................................................ 40 2.2.1 Parent- Teen Communication ...................................................................... 41 2.2.2 Gendered Messages ....................................................................................... 44 2.3 Summary and Hypotheses ................................................................................ 46 3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 48 3.1 Data ..................................................................................................................... 48 3.2 Sample ................................................................................................................ 49 3.3 Measures ............................................................................................................ 50 3.3.1 Dependent variables ...................................................................................... 50 3.3.2 Independent variables ................................................................................... 55 3.3.3 Control variables ........................................................................................... 57 3.4 Plan of Analysis ................................................................................................. 62 3.4.1 Chapter 4—Parental Communication, Formal Sexual Education, and Protective Behaviors Descriptives and T-tests ..................................................................... 62 3.4.2 Chapter 5—Logistic Regression of Self-Silencing Behavior on Social Location and Sexual Education ........................................................................................... 63 3 3.4.3 Chapter 6—OLS Regression of Consistent Condom Use on Social Location and Sexual Education..........................................................................................................