Social cognitive factors associated with mother-adolescent communication about sex

To better understand why some mothers talk to their children about sex and others do not, we examined the role of two social cognitive variable-self-e fficacy and outcome expectancies--in explaining sex-based communication. Th e present study was part of a larger study to test the efficacy of two HIV prevention programs for mothers and their adolescents. Mothers and their ad olescents were recruited from a large community organization that serves yo uth who live in disadvantaged circumstances. The sample for the present stu dy included 486 mothers who averaged 38.4 years of age (SD = 6.73). The maj ority were African American (97.7%), not married (66.7%), and had a high sc hool degree (89.5%). Their adolescents ranged in age from II through 14 yea rs of age and most were male (61.3%). The results of the analysis revealed that mothers who expressed higher levels of self-efficacy and more favorabl e outcomes associated with talking to their children about sex were more li kely to do so. In a regression analysis, we learned that the mother's degre e of efficacy beliefs, along with her expected outcomes associated with tal king about sex, the importance of religious beliefs to her, and the age and sex of her adolescents were important factors associated with talking with them about sex.