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Parental Communication In Identity Development

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Lets Talk about Sex: The Importance of Parental Communication in
Identity Development
Introduction
Experiences shape how one views, interacts and thinks about the world and themselves. During the time of adolescence, identities are still being shaped contrary to their possible adult appearance. Teens are capable of making decisions, which could change their lives forever. The involvements with their parents and peers have a large impact on their sexual identity, social identity and racial identity. As a future counselor, I am very interested in the decision making process in the adolescent age group. Growing up in a single parent household, my mother and I were really close. She established a relationship that allowed me to comfortably …show more content…
Adolescents today are searching for their uniqueness in the mist of physical expectations. The sexual development stage begins at adolescence, which is why puberty starts (PBS). Sexual curiosity, flirting and sexual experimenting are all normal behaviors during the search for adolescents sexual identity. Limiting risky behavior is difficult if the relationship lacks communication. “Behavioral control is the parenting construct must commonly studied in relation to adolescent sexual risk behavior” (Kincaid,2012). Modern technology involving gps and other computer software is a tool parents use to track their children however; is this stopping the risky behavior. Kincaid believes, “parents play a pivotal role in acting as social control and attachment models for their adolescents by providing emotional connection, behavior constraints and modeling of relationship processes”. Sexuality can be a learned behavior from communication between their parents, social media and other outlets. Parents create the comfort ability level for the adolescent. According to the Center of Disease control (CDC) nearly 50% of youth in grades 9-12 in the united states are sexual active (CDC, 2008). Of that age group, 38.5% indicated they did not use condoms during their last sexual encounter (CDC,2008). These numbers either are a result to lack of education or bad decision making. According to Widmans’s research, “youth you engage in more frequent and comfortable sexual communication with their dating partners are more likely to delay sexual debut and use condoms…” (Widman). Widman’s results also support my hypothesis in stating, “More frequent communication with parents in association with a higher likelihood of discussing sexual issues with romantic partners”

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