Understanding Mothers’ Information-Seeking About Mother–Adolescent Sexual Communication

ING AND INDEXING For a full list of databases in which this journal is indexed, please visit www.healthandsociety. com/journal/collection. KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP Authors in The International Journal of Health, Wellness, And Society are members of the Health, Wellness & Society Knowledge Community or a thematically related Knowledge Community. Members receive access to journal content. To find out more, visit www.healthandsociety. com/about/become-a-member. SUBSCRIPTIONS The International Journal of Health, Wellness, And Society is available in electronic and print formats. Subscribe to gain access to content from the current year and the entire backlist. Contact us at cg-support@commongroundpublishing.com. ORDERING Single articles and issues are available from the journal bookstore at www.ijw. cgpublisher.com. HYBRID OPEN ACCESS The International Journal of Health, Wellness, And Society is Hybrid Open Access, meaning authors can choose to make their articles open access. This allows their work to reach an even wider audience, broadening the dissemination of their research. To find out more, please visit www.healthandsociety. com/journal/hybrid-open-access. DISCLAIMER The authors, editors, and publisher will not accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may have been made in this publication. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. The International Journal of Health, Wellness, and Society Volume 6, Issue 4, 2016, www.healthandsociety. com © Common Ground Publishing, Katrina Pariera, All Rights Reserved Permissions: cg-support@commongroundpublishing.com ISSN: 2156-8960 (Print), ISSN: 2156-9053 (Online) Understanding Mothers’ Information-Seeking About Mother–Adolescent Sexual Communication Katrina Pariera, The George Washington University, USA Abstract: Mother-Child adolescent communication (MASC) has been consistently linked to positive sexual health outcomes for the child, and while most mothers talk to their children about sex at least once these conversations tend to Mother-Child adolescent communication (MASC) has been consistently linked to positive sexual health outcomes for the child, and while most mothers talk to their children about sex at least once these conversations tend to be infrequent and highly uncomfortable. Few studies have examined what information mothers are looking for to help them navigate these potentially uncomfortable conversations. It also remains unknown what kinds of messages can be effective in motivating mothers to seek more information on this topic. This research examines the impact of a humorous public service announcement (PSA) on mothers’ (N = 442) information-seeking intentions and behaviors regarding talking to their child about sex. The study compares information-seeking intentions and behaviors for parents exposed to a humorous PSA to those of parents exposed to a non-humorous PSA. Results are discussed in light of implications for understanding how to improve the information supply about family sexual communication, and how to design effective interventions to increase maternal information-seeking.