Messages About Contraception and Condoms in Mother–Adolescent Dyadic Conversations: Knowledge, Risks, and Effectiveness

Study Objective: Little is known about the content of parental discussions with young adolescents about reproductive health topics. We sought to characterize the messages mothers share about contraception and condoms. Design: Recruitment occurred between January 2012 and May 2013. Mothers and their 12- to 14-year-old adolescent son or daughter were invited to participate in a semistructured conversation about everyday issues and health topics, including reproductive health topics. Discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and a grounded theory approach to content analysis was performed. Content analysis was performed to characterize maternal messages regarding contraception and condoms. Setting: Urban city in western Pennsylvania. Participants: Twenty-five dyads; 14 mother–daughter dyads and 11 mother–son dyads. Interventions: None. Main Outcome Measures: Maternal reproductive health messages during conversations with early adolescent children. Results: Four key themes emerged. Theme 1 focused on general facts about condoms and contraceptive methods, how each works, and how to obtain them. Theme 2 emphasized the consequences of sexual behaviors and the advantages of safe sex. Theme 3 conveyed the effectiveness of condoms and contraceptive methods for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Theme 4 described where adolescents could get more information about condoms and contraception. Conclusion: Mothers convey a broad range of information about contraceptives and condoms to young adolescents.