Mindful Parents and Adolescent Sexual Communication and Outcomes
Received: 08-Nov-2021 / Accepted Date: 22-Nov-2021 / Published Date: 29-Nov-2021
Abstract
Mindfulness is the process of intentionally bringing attention to the present moment with a perspective that is curious, non-judgemental, and open to new experiences. Sexual mindfulness is practicing this openness and non-judgement in a sexual situation. Because parents’ mindfulness may improve child’s well-being, we considered whether parents’ trait and sexual mindfulness may be associated with their child’s outcomes such as sexual shame, sexual anxiety, self-regulation, anxiety, bodyesteem, and disclosure to parents about sexuality. In a sample of 620 families (moms and/or dads and their adolescent child), we used structural equation modeling to examine associations between parents’ trait and sexual mindfulness and various child outcomes associated with adolescent's perceptions of quality of sexual communication, sexual understanding, and overall well-being. Results showed that both moms’ and dads’ trait and sexual mindfulness were positively linked to various adolescent outcomes. The interpersonal environment that parents created through their practice of slowing down, being more present, and being less judgemental appears to be connected to how adolescents feel about their body, their sexuality, and how parents communicated with their adolescent, particularly on topics of sex.
Keywords: Mindfulness • Anxiety • Adolescents • Child
Introduction
Mindfulness encourages a quality of presence and an attitude of nonjudgement which benefits adults on individual, relational, and sexual levels [1,2]. Mindful adults report higher body image, better emotional regulation, and increased sexual satisfaction [2-4]. A newer body of mindfulness research suggests that sexual mindfulness, remaining non-judgemental and aware during a sexual experience, is associated with adults’ sexual satisfaction and self-esteem [5,6], and may also be associated with partner outcomes [7- 9]. But might a parent's mindfulness benefit their children? Some evidence suggests it may [10,11]. Mindful parents may improve the quality of the parentchild relationship and thereby influence the child’s well-being [12]. Other mechanisms may also be at play such as emotion regulation and self-other connectedness [13].
Regardless of parental mindfulness, adolescent mindfulness research has shown a positive association between adolescents’ trait mindfulness and their self-esteem and self-efficacy and a negative association with sexual shame [14,15]. The ability of adolescents to slow down thoughts and create more intentionality is positively associated disclosure with parents, and diminished sexual shame [15], giving initial evidence that mindfulness may be connected to how parents and children talk about sex. We examined how a parent’s trait mindfulness and sexual mindfulness are associated with their adolescents’ trait mindfulness, sexual mindfulness, sexual shame, sexual anxiety, self-regulation, anxiety, body-esteem, and disclosure to parents about sexuality. Given that extant research on moms and dads together is limited, we include both parents in an integrated model. Additionally, we examined whether parental mindfulness links to the quality and frequency of parent-child communication about sex.
Trait and sexual mindfulness in adult relationships
Mindfulness includes the process of intentionally bringing one’s attention to the present moment with a perspective that is curious and non-judgemental [16,17], as well as awareness and openness in the present situation [18,19]. For couples, mindfulness has repeatedly shown associations with greater relational and sexual satisfaction [20,21], positive communication, and improved response to stress [22].
A sub-type of mindfulness is sexual mindfulness, an awareness and non-judgemental attitude during sexual experiences [5,23]. Because sexual experiences are often a time of high stress or self-judgement, mindfulness can be beneficial in reducing judgement and critical evaluations [24]. Sexual mindfulness has shown positive associations with relational and sexual satisfaction and self-esteem in adults, with some associations above and beyond the benefits of trait mindfulness [5]. Parents’ mindfulness and sexual mindfulness may be associated with their child’s outcomes such as sexual shame, sexual anxiety, self-regulation, anxiety, body-esteem, disclosure to parents about sexuality because these topics surrounding sex may be linked to the overall environment the parent creates [13]. Mindful relational theory might suggest that a mindful parent would be more aware of automatic responses and replace them with behavior and dialogue that is more intentional and accepting, thereby creating more connection. Mindful parents may be slower to judge a child’s behavior, attitudes, or comments about sex as negative, and instead be curious to explore their ideas and guide the child with thoughtful reasoning. Additionally, mindful relational theory suggests that mindful individuals create a self-other connectedness that encourages positive appraisals of their relationship [13].
Adolescent trait mindfulness and sexual mindfulness
Although the benefits of mindfulness for adolescents are less studied, some research has shown that adolescents’ trait mindfulness is associated with positive outcomes such as body esteem and self-efficacy [15,25,26]. Additionally, preliminary research has shown that adolescents’ sexual mindfulness was positively associated with adolescent consent beliefs and negatively associated with adolescent sexual shame [15]. Both trait and sexual mindfulness in adolescence may play important roles in adolescents’ disclosure to parents and frequency of discussion relating to sexual issues [15].
Mindfulness and adolescent outcomes
Anxiety: Preliminary research findings suggest that mindfulness can reduce anxiety symptoms in adolescents [27]. Mindful practices encourage adolescents to be curious, accepting, and aware of anxious feelings through intentional focus on the present moment, while reducing anxiety through loving-kindness and self-acceptance practices [17]. Research also indicates that parents’ mindfulness may be associated with less child anxiety, even when controlling for the child’s mindfulness, suggesting that parental mindfulness can positively influence child mental health outcomes [28].
Sexual shame: Mindfulness has also been linked to improve adolescent sexual outcomes; however, research is limited. Sexual shame has been shown to be negatively correlated with trait mindfulness for adolescents [15]. Parents with higher trait and sexual mindfulness tend to experience higher sexual satisfaction [13,15,20,21], found in an adolescent sample that sexual mindfulness was negatively associated with sexual shame. Parental mindfulness and sexual mindfulness may positively influence how adolescents view their own sexuality.
Sexual anxiety: Sexual anxiety has shown a negative association with mindfulness in adult populations [29,30] and we suggest these associations may also apply to adolescent outcomes when parents display mindfulness [13]. found that mindfulness was associated with higher body esteem for adolescents who were not sexually active, and negatively associated with sexual anxiety for sexually active adolescents. We postulate that parent sexual mindfulness will have a similar impact on these variables.
Self-regulation: Certain mindfulness facets such as non-judging and acting with awareness are negatively associated with an inability to selfregulate [31]. Among college students, acting with awareness was positively associated with higher levels of self-regulation [32]. Together these findings suggest that mindfulness, and potentially parental mindfulness, may link to adolescents’ self-regulation.
Body-esteem: Although research on adolescent mindfulness and bodyesteem is limited, studies have found that among adults, mindfulness is positively associated with greater body image and less body comparison in men and women [4,33]. Leavitt et al. found that adolescent trait and sexual mindfulness was positively linked to body esteem [15]. We hypothesize that parent mindfulness will have similar positive association with these adolescent outcomes, which may be linked to improved child body-esteem.
Disclosure to parents: Children of moms who practice mindful parenting have been shown to have positive associations with disclosing about sexuality [34]. No other research has explored the association between adolescent mindfulness and disclosure to parents. However, research suggests that mindfulness in adults can improve supportive communication which involves empathy and encouragement [35].
Parental mindfulness and adolescent sexual well-being
The practice of mindful parenting encourages parents to be intentional, aware, and non-judgemental in their interactions with their child [36] and provides an expectation of more effective parenting techniques [37]. Mindful parenting is characterized by continually remaining present in interactions with children while also controlling automatic negative responses to the child). Mindful parenting is theorized to include emotional regulation, compassion, and awareness for the parent and child [39] by remaining present, aware, and non-judgemental during parent-child conversations [38].
In acknowledging changing dynamics during the transition to adolescence, mindful parents may emphasize stability, calmness, and closeness in the parent child relationship [39]. As the parent practices compassion, awareness, attention, and other characteristics of a mindful individual, adolescents may have an easier time connecting with the parent. Mindful relational theory suggests that individuals create warmer, more accepting relational environments by slowing down automated responses and instead seeing a more positive intention by the other and mindful individuals use self-other awareness, which creates greater connection [13].
Mindful parenting is associated with positive interpersonal interactions [40], increased adolescent disclosure to mothers, and less mother-child conflict [34], and this may hold true in sexual conversations as well. Adolescents may be more willing to disclose information when discussing sexual education with mindful parents who display non-judgemental and self-regulate, creating an open and safe environment for discussion. Research has shown that voluntary disclosure was more strongly associated with parental knowledge than parental control or solicitation [41]. This leads us to believe that parent-child sexual conversations may be more positive when children lead the conversation and parents are less interrogatory. When discussing sexual topics, both parents and children have reported experiencing shame and embarrassment [42]. Because sexual mindfulness is more difficult and specific to the topic of sex, we examined whether sexually mindful parents may create a more intentional and positive environment with their child. For example, adolescents have reported being less anxious and less avoidant during conversations about sex when their parents were receptive, informal, and composed [43].
Quality and frequency of parent-adolescent communication about sexuality
Parents may convey non-verbal positive attitudes about sex if they are mindful and specifically, mindful of their own sexual experiences. Recognizing that conversations regarding sexuality may trigger anxiety or discomfort in parent-child relationships, parent-child communication on sex may be more impactful to adolescents as parents slow down and discuss sex and sexuality in a clear, comfortable, and non-judgemental way. It may be that parents who are able to stay mindful during these conversations are more comfortable in the experience and this may lead to better outcomes for the adolescent..
Parental mindfulness has been associated with compassionate and nonjudging parent-adolescent communication [44]. Adolescents are more likely to have open communication with parents who show warmth and support [45], which suggests that mindfulness may increase the frequency of parentadolescent communication about sexuality. Further, women with greater sexual mindfulness have reported more open and frequent communication patterns about sex [13,46]. We hypothesize that adolescent and parent mindfulness will be positively associated with the quality and frequency of parent-adolescent communication about sexuality.
Current study.
We examined parents’ trait and sexual mindfulness to determine their adolescent’s outcomes and additionally examine the quality, substance, and frequency of parent-child conversations about sex. Some research suggested that while trait mindfulness is important, sexual mindfulness had the greatest impact on sexual outcomes [5,15]. Understanding the connection between parent mindfulness and adolescent outcomes may improve parent-child communication about sex by making it more effective.
Based on previous literature and controlling for race, age, and education, we hypothesized that:
H1: Moms’ and dads’ trait and sexual mindfulness will be positively associated with adolescent general outcomes of body esteem, disclosure, selfregulation, trait mindfulness, and disclosure with each parent.
H2: Moms’ and dads’ trait mindfulness and sexual mindfulness will be negatively associated with adolescent outcomes of anxiety and sexual anxiety.
H3: Moms’ and dads’ trait and sexual mindfulness will be associated with more frequent conversations about the physiology, risks, and positive elements of sex, as well as general communication about sex.
H4: Moms’ and dads’ trait and sexual mindfulness will be positively associated with the quality of sexual conversations. That is, trait mindfulness and sexual mindfulness will be linked with conversations that are more open, mutual, and less controlling.
Methods
Participants and procedure
The sample for this study was acquired through data from the Healthy Sexuality Project, a longitudinal study of sexuality and sexual communication in parent-child triads. Individuals were recruited through Bovitz and answered an online survey through Qualtrics. This study uses the first wave of the data collected in 2019, which contains 620 families including 244 single parent families (39.4%) with only mom-child data. Of the parents in the sample, 40.6% of moms and 31.8% of dads had graduated college, and 55.3% of families reported making less than $50,000 per year, with 2.7% making over $100,000 per year. For the children, 50.5% were female, 55.3% were White, 26% were Black, 12.6% were Latino/a, and the rest were other racial groups. The sample contained adolescents between the ages of 12-17 (Mean=14.5, SD=1.70), containing almost equal numbers for young adolescents (age 12- 13: 31.6%), mid-adolescents (age 14-15: 33.2%), and older adolescents (age 16-17: 35.2%).
Measures
Mindfulness: Parent and adolescent mindfulness were measured using a short form of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale [47]. Participants responded to three prompts regarding mindfulness, for example, “I run through activities without being really attentive to them.” Participants answered using a Likert-type scale (male adolescent: α=0.87; female adolescent: α=0.87; mom: α=.87; dad: α=0.92) ranging from 1 (almost always) to 6 (almost never). Higher scores indicating more mindfulness.
Sexual mindfulness: Sexual mindfulness was assessed using the Sexual Mindfulness Measure [5], which is composed of two sub-factors. To measure sexually mindful awareness, participants responded to 4 statements such as “I pay attention to how sex affects my thoughts and behavior” (mom: α=0.86; dad α=0.85) on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never or rarely true) to 5 (very often or always true). To measure sexually mindful non-judgement, participants responded to 3 statements such as “During sex, I sometimes get tense when I have a thought I'm not comfortable with,” (mom: α=0.83; dad α=0.79) using the same Likert-type scale as the awareness subscale. Non-judgemental items were reverse-scored. Higher scores reflected greater awareness and less judgement.
Disclosure to parents about sexuality
We used the Parent-Child Sex Communication Inventory [48], to measure sexual disclosure. Adolescents rated how often they voluntarily disclosed something to their parents about various aspects of their sexuality using a Likert scale (male adolescent: α =0.94; female adolescent: α=0.92) of 1 (never) to 5 (always), with higher scores reflecting more frequent disclosure. A sample disclosure item includes “Talk to your parent about your sexual fears or concerns.” Adolescents reported on both parents, where possible.
Sexual shame: We used the Kyle Inventory of Sexual Shame [49], to assess sexual shame. Participants rated their agreement with three statements reflective of sexual shame using a Likert scale (male adolescent: α=0.81; female adolescent: α=0.77) of 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree), with higher scores reflecting more personal shame regarding sexuality. Sample items included “I think people would look down on me if they knew about my sexual experiences” and “I feel ashamed about having sexual fantasies.”
Sexual anxiety: Adolescents’ sexual anxiety was measured using three items [50]. Participants responded to three statements reflective of sexual anxiety using a Likert scale (male adolescent: α=0.81; female adolescent: α=0.80) of 1 (not at all like me) to 5 (completely like me). A sample item for sexual anxiety includes “I worry about the sexual aspects of my life.” Higher scores reflected higher levels of sexual anxiety.
Self-regulation: Adolescents' self-regulation was assessed using a shortened version of the Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory [51]. Participants responded to six items using a 5-point Likert-type scale (male adolescent: α=0.79; female adolescent: α=0.79) from 1 (not at all true for me/ my child) to 5 (really true for me/my child). A sample item is “If something isn’t going according to my plans, I change my actions to try and reach my goal.” Negative items were reversed coded so that higher scores reflect greater ability of the adolescent to self-regulate in order to achieve long-term goals.
Anxiety: Adolescents' anxiety was assessed using a reduced version of the General Anxiety Scale (GAS-7) [52]. Respondents rated their frequency experiencing any of three anxiety-related feelings using a Likert scale (male adolescent: α=0.85; female adolescent: α=0.91) of 1 (never) to 4 (nearly every day). An example item includes “Worrying too much about different things.” Higher scores reflect higher frequency of anxious feelings.
Body esteem: Adolescents' body esteem was assessed using a reduced version of the Body Esteem Scale for Adolescents and Adults [53]. Respondents were asked to rate their agreement with three items using a Likert scale (male adolescent: α=0.68; female adolescent: α=0.78) of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). An example item includes “I’m pretty happy about the way I look.” One negatively worded item was reverse coded such that higher scores reflected higher levels of body esteem.
Quality of parent-adolescent communication about sexuality
We used parallel forms of a measure adapted from both the Sex Communication Scale [54], and items from [55], to assess the quality of parentadolescent communication about sexuality. Participants rated their agreement with 18 statements using a Likert scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). A sample item for the openness subscale includes “I can ask my parent the questions I really want to know about sexual topics” (or “My parent and I talk openly and freely about sexual topics”) (male adolescent: α=0.85; female adolescent: α=0.81). A sample item for the parental control subscale includes “My parent expects me to agree with him/her when we talk about sex” (male adolescent: α=0.84; female adolescent: α=0.78). A sample item for the mutual conversation subscale includes “When my parent and I discuss sexuality, we listen to each other” (male adolescent: α=0.85; female adolescent: α=0.83). A mean score was calculated for each subscale with higher scores indicating higher levels of openness in communication, mutual conversation, and more parental control.
Frequency of sex communication: The frequency of sex communication was assessed using an adapted version of the Parent-Teen Sexual Risk Communication Scale [56]. The twelve items were previously validated in the Parent Child Sex Communication Inventory [48]. Adolescents rated how often the parent talked about 22 topics related to sexuality in the past year using a Likert scale from 1 (never) to 6 (more than once a week), with higher scores reflecting a higher frequency of communication. Adolescents assessed frequency of communication with each of their parents, individually. Three subscales [48], accounted for 12 of the items, namely sex physiology (e.g., basic male or female anatomy) (male child: α=0.84; female child: α=0.78), sexual risk (e.g., ways to protect yourself against STDs and AIDS) (male child: α=0.84; female child: α=0.78) and positive aspects (e.g., how sexuality can enhance a couple’s relationship) (male child: α=0.84; female child: α=0.78).
Analyses: Preliminary steps included t-tests and correlations, separately by gender, to consider bivariate associations and mean differences between variables. Then, a path analysis was performed in R [53], via the Lavaan package [57,58], to examine associations among moms' and dads’ trait mindfulness, sexual awareness, and sexual non-judgement and how each related to adolescent outcomes. Controls included race (White/Non-White comparison), age, and education. In line with our hypotheses, the model was saturated-as all paths from all predictors to all other outcomes were freely estimated in addition to covariances among predictors and covariances among outcomes-and therefore model fit statistics are not provided. Missing data were handled via full-information maximum-likelihood.
Results
Mean comparisons revealed several significant differences between moms’ and dads’ including on trait mindfulness (moms M=3.96; dads M=4.18; t=3.17, p<.01) and sexual mindfulness non-judgement (moms M=2.11; dads M=4.08; t=23.03, p<0.001). No differences were found between moms and dads for sexual awareness.
In general, parental mindfulness tended to predict healthy outcomes in adolescents, though this varied by outcome, by adolescent’s gender, and by mother’s or father’s mindfulness. (Not all significant findings are listed here due to space limitations. For full results of the path model, see Table 1.) For example, boys’ disclosure to dad was more likely if mom was sexually aware (β=0.53, p<0.001) and girls’ disclosure to dad was more likely if dad was sexually aware (β=0.43, p<0.01). Boys were less likely to report sexual shame (β=-0.32, p<.01) if dads reported non-judgement or trait mindfulness (β=-0.14, p<0.01) and boys were also less likely to report sexual anxiety if their dad showed trait mindfulness (β=-0.21, p<0.001) or mom showed non-judgement (β=-0.17, p<0.05). For girls, sexual anxiety was negatively associated with mom’s trait mindfulness (β=-0.29, p<0.001) and dad’s non-judgement (β=- 0.20, p<0.05). Additionally, dad’s awareness was associated with increased self-regulation for boys (β=0.19, p< 0.05) as was mom’s awareness (β=0.25, p<0.01) for girls.
| B (SE) Boys | R2 Boys | B (SE) Girls | R2 Girls | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disclosure to Dad | 0.19 | 0.13 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .04 (.11) | .07 (.10) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .11 (.12) | .07 (.09) | ||
| Mom awareness | .58*** (.15) | .24 (.14) | ||
| Dad awareness | .09 (.17) | .43** (.15) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.21 (.16) | -.06 (.11) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .09 (.19) | -.19 (.12) | ||
| Disclosure to Mom | 0.14 | 0.14 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .04 (.10) | -.06 (.12) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .13 (.11) | .01 (.11) | ||
| Mom awareness | .60*** (.15) | .66*** (.17) | ||
| Dad awareness | .05 (.17) | .18 (.19) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.16 (.15) | .09 (.14) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | -.02 (.19) | -.16 (.16) | ||
| Sexual shame | 0.26 | 0.16 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | -.06 (.06) | -.09 (.07) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | -0.0084 | -.08 (.07) | ||
| Mom awareness | -.09 (.08) | -.04 (.11) | ||
| Dad awareness | -.17 (.09) | -.12 (.12) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.12 (.09) | -.09 (.08) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | -.32** (.10) | -.07 (.10) | ||
| Sexual anxiety | 0.15 | 0.19 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | -.03 (.05) | -.29*** (.06) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | -.21*** (.06) | .02 (.06) | ||
| Mom awareness | -.01 (.08) | .13 (.10) | ||
| Dad awareness | .02 (.09) | -.19 (.10) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -0.0136 | .00 (.08) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | -.05 (.10) | -0.018 | ||
| Self-regulation | 0.19 | 0.24 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .18*** (.05) | .14** (.05) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .10 (.06) | .09 (.05) | ||
| Mom awareness | .07 (.07) | .25** (.08) | ||
| Dad awareness | .19* (.08) | .02 (.09) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.04 (.08) | -.10 (.06) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .12 (.09) | .07 (.07) | ||
| Anxiety | 0.18 | 0.19 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | -0.0036 | -.25*** (.05) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | -.17*** (.04) | -.01 (.05) | ||
| Mom awareness | .13* (.06) | .05 (.08) | ||
| Dad awareness | -.05 (.07) | .06 (.09) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.07 (.06) | -.01 (.06) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .01 (.07) | -.10 (.07) | ||
| Body esteem | 0.21 | 0.3 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .15** (.05) | .25** (.07) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .06 (.06) | .00 (.07) | ||
| Mom awareness | -.02 (.07) | .01 (.11) | ||
| Dad awareness | .23** (.08) | .17 (.12) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.03 (.07) | -.22** (.08) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .25** (.09) | .37*** (.10) | ||
| Child mindfulness | 0.32 | 0.3 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .37*** (.06) | .38*** (.07) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .16** (.06) | .11 (.06) | ||
| Mom awareness | .01 (.09) | .12 (.10) | ||
| Dad awareness | .04 (.09) | -.08 (.10) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | .02 (.09) | .05 (.08) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .31** (.10) | .08 (.09) | ||
| Secrecy from Dad | 0.1 | 0.16 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | -.19 (.12) | -.63*** (.17) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .00 (.13) | .04 (.15) | ||
| Mom awareness | -.19 (.17) | .54* (.25) | ||
| Dad awareness | .03 (.19) | -.21 (.26) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.12 (.17) | -.07 (.20) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | -.31 (.21) | -0.1188 | ||
| Secrecy from Mom | 0.14 | 0.16 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | -.36*** (.10) | -.35** (.12) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .16 (.12) | -.05 (.12) | ||
| Mom awareness | -0.0495 | .18 (.18) | ||
| Dad awareness | .05 (.18) | -.09 (.20) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.11 (.16) | -.15 (.14) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | -.52** (.19) | -.19 (.17) |
Note: *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001; N=620 families.
Table 1. Path analysis predicting adolescent outcomes from parental trait and sexual mindfulness.
A few findings went counter to what was hypothesized, such as girl’s body esteem which was negatively associated with their mom’s non-judgement (β=- 0.22, p<0.01) but positively associated with dads’ non-judgement (β=0.37, p< 0.001).
Results for the analysis of communication outcomes also showed that in general, higher levels of trait and sexual mindfulness in parents were associated with better sexual communication between parent and child. For full results of the communication outcomes, see Table 2. Some noteworthy results include that for boys, mutuality of conversation with mom was positively associated with moms’ mindfulness (β=0.11, p<0.05), moms’ awareness (β=0.17, p<0.05) and dads’ awareness (β=0.19, p<0.05) and non-judgement (β=0.28, p<0.01). For girls, mutuality of conversation with mom was associated with moms’ awareness (β=0.33, p<0.001). For boys, mutuality of conversation with dad was positively associated with dads’ awareness (β=0.32, p<0.01) and non-judgement (β=0.28, p<0.05) and for girls, with dads’ awareness (β=0.55, p<0.001). For girls, moms’ parental control was negatively associated with dads’ awareness (β=0-.27, p<0.05) and non-judgement for boys (β=-0.29, p<0.05) and dads’ parental control was negatively associated with moms’ nonjudgement (β=-0.31, p<0.05). For boys, frequency of sexual communication with both mom (β=0.30, p<0.001) and dad (β=0.30, p<0.001) was predicted by moms’ awareness but, unexpectedly, negatively associated with moms’ nonjudgement (β=-0.25, p<0.01). Specifically, boys were more likely to talk about sexual physiology with both mom (β=0.28, p<0.01) and dad (β=0.32, p<0.001) when moms reported more awareness, but they were less likely to discuss sexual physiology with mom (β=-0.20, p<0.05) or dad (β=-0.30, p<0.001) when moms reported more non-judgement. For girls, discussing sexual physiology with mom was predicted by dads’ awareness (β=0.29, p<0.01) and discussing sexual physiology with dads was positively associated with dads’ awareness (β=0.34, p<0.001) (Tables 1 and 2).
| B (SE) Boys | R2 Boys | B (SE) Girls | R2 Girls | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mom openness | 0.24 | 0.14 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .10 (.07) | .08 (.08) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .15* (.08) | .12 (.07) | ||
| Mom awareness | .22* (.10) | .36** (.12) | ||
| Dad awareness | .35** (.11) | .09 (.13) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.12 (.10) | .01 (.09) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .37** (.12) | -.10 (.11) | ||
| Dad openness | 0.19 | 0.17 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .11 (.08) | .14 (.10) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .09 (.09) | .19* (.09) | ||
| Mom awareness | .22 (.12) | -.07 (.15) | ||
| Dad awareness | .40** (.13) | .57*** (.15) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.04 (.12) | -.05 (.12) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .31* (.14) | -.03 (.13) | ||
| Mom parental control | 0.12 | 0.05 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | -.05 (.07) | -.03 (.08) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .02 (.08) | .09 (.08) | ||
| Mom awareness | -.13 (.11) | .03 (.12) | ||
| Dad awareness | -0.0324 | -.02 (.13) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.02 (.11) | -.18 (.09) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | -0.0377 | -.01 (.11) | ||
| Dad parental control | 0.08 | 0.1 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | -.16 (.08) | .03 (.11) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | -.12 (.09) | -.06 (.10) | ||
| Mom awareness | -.05 (.12) | .01 (.16) | ||
| Dad awareness | -.05 (.14) | -.16 (.17) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | .01 (.12) | -0.0372 | ||
| Dad non-judgement | -.11 (.15) | -.24 (.14) | ||
| Mom mutual | 0.17 | 0.14 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .11* (.05) | .06 (.06) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .00 (.06) | .06 (.06) | ||
| Mom awareness | .17* (.08) | .33*** (.09) | ||
| Dad awareness | .19* (.09) | -.07 (.10) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.07 (.08) | . 01 (.07) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .28** (.10) | .03 (.09) | ||
| Dad mutual | 0.19 | 0.16 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .07 (.07) | .14 (.10) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .11 (.08) | .11 (.09) | ||
| Mom awareness | .11 (.10) | -.12 (.14) | ||
| Dad awareness | .32** (.12) | .55*** (.15) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | .00 (.11) | -.08 (.11) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .28* (.13) | .07 (.12) | ||
| Sex Communication with Mom Frequency | 0.19 | 0.14 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .05 (.05) | -.02 (.06) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .02 (.06) | .08 (.05) | ||
| Mom awareness | .30*** (.08) | .17* (.08) | ||
| Dad awareness | .11 (.10) | .22* (.09) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.16 (.09) | -.09 (.06) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .07 (.11) | -.09 (.07) | ||
| Sex Communication with Dad Frequency | 0.3 | 0.19 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .01 (.05) | .06 (.06) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .07 (.06) | .08 (.05) | ||
| Mom awareness | .30*** (.08) | .08 (.08) | ||
| Dad awareness | .18 (.09) | .36*** (.08) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.25** (.08) | -.12 (.07) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .16 (.10) | -.12 (.07) | ||
| Frequency with Mom: | 0.16 | 0.14 | ||
| Sex physiology | ||||
| Mom mindfulness | .05 (.06) | .00 (.06) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .02 (.07) | .05 (.05) | ||
| Mom awareness | .28** (.09) | .15 (.09) | ||
| Dad awareness | .07 (.11) | .29** (.09) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -0.018 | -.10 (.07) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .06 (.12) | -.10 (.08) | ||
| Frequency with Dad: Sex Physiology | 0.3 | 0.19 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .04 (.06) | .06 (.06) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .04 (.07) | .09 (.05) | ||
| Mom awareness | .32*** (.09) | .07 (.09) | ||
| Dad awareness | .16 (.10) | .34*** (.09) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.30*** (.09) | -.12 (.07) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .16 (.11) | -.12 (.07) | ||
| Frequency with Mom: Sex Risk | 0.18 | 0.13 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .07 (.06) | - .04 (.07) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | -.01 (.08) | .09 (.07) | ||
| Mom awareness | .34*** (.10) | .20 (.11) | ||
| Dad awareness | .16 (.12) | .24* (.11) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.17 (.10) | -.12 (.08) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .19 (.13) | - .06 (.09) | ||
| Frequency with Dad: Sex Risk | 0.3 | 0.16 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | .00 (.07) | .10 (.08) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .10 (.07) | .05 (.07) | ||
| Mom awareness | .36*** (.10) | .08 (.12) | ||
| Dad awareness | .24* (.11) | .46*** (.12) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.26** (.10) | -.15 (.09) | ||
| Dad non-judgment | .27* (.12) | -.13 (.10) | ||
| Frequency with Mom: Positive Aspects of Sex | 0.17 | 0.08 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | -.02 (.06) | -.02 (.07) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .14* (.07) | .08 (.06) | ||
| Mom awareness | .28** (.09) | .17 (.09) | ||
| Dad awareness | .17 (.10) | .18 (.10) | ||
| Mom non- judgement | -.13 (.09) | - .06 (.07) | ||
| Dad non- judgement | -.11 (.11) | -.15 (.09) | ||
| Frequency with Dad: Positive Aspects of Sex | 0.19 | 0.14 | ||
| Mom mindfulness | -.02 (.06) | .03 (.06) | ||
| Dad mindfulness | .08 (.07) | .09 (.05) | ||
| Mom awareness | .26** (.09) | .08 (.08) | ||
| Dad awareness | .16 (.10) | .25** (.08) | ||
| Mom non-judgement | -.24** (.09) | -.08 (.06) | ||
| Dad non-judgement | .13 (.11) | -.10 (.07) |
Note: *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001; N = 620 families.
Table 2. Path analysis predicting adolescent sexual communication outcomes from parental trait and sexual mindfulness.
Discussion
This study is the first to examine how a parent’s mindfulness skills may be linked to their child’s outcomes and their child’s perceptions of the quality and frequency of sexual conversations. We found that both moms' and dads' trait and sexual mindfulness mattered for various adolescent outcomes. The interpersonal environment that parents create through their practice of slowing down, being more present, and being less judgemental appears to be connected to how adolescents feel about their body, their sexuality, and how they communicate with their parent, particularly on topics of sex. These findings are grounded in the theoretical model of mindful relational interactions [13], in that mindful moms and, specifically sexually mindful moms and dads, were more likely to have adolescents with positive outcomes and positive assessments of sexual communication quality and frequency.
Moms' and Dads' trait mindfulness
Moms' and Dads' trait mindfulness was important in several outcomes. Mindful moms’ boys and girls reported being more mindful themselves, feeling more self-regulation and less anxiety, having a better perspective of their body, and being less secretive with their mom, and for girls less secretive with their dads. Girls of mindful moms also reported feeling less sexual anxiety. Dads’ mindfulness was mainly associated with their boys’ outcomes. Mindful dads’ boys reported less sexual shame and less general and sexual anxiety. This finding is consistent with earlier research that suggested moms and daughters and dads and sons discuss sex more than opposite gendered dyads [59]. When dads were mindful, both boys and girls reported being more mindful themselves. Our findings that parents’ mindfulness was associated with their adolescents’ supports preliminary evidence showing that parental mindfulness training transfers to the parent-child interaction [21].
Interpreted through the Karremans' model, presented, parents who slow down and are more intentional are likely to create an environment where their child feels understood, accepted, a greater sense of connection, and parents will likely interpret their child’s behavior less negatively. In fact, other research has found similar results. Less shaming, anxiety, higher body appraisal, and more disclosure were found from earlier adolescent studies examining mindfulness [14,15]. We expand on earlier findings and link parental mindfulness to adolescents’ mindfulness, self-regulation, lower anxiety, better body image, less secretive behavior, and less sexual anxiety and shame.
Moms’ and dads’ sexual mindfulness
When moms and/or dads are sexually mindful, they likely have developed heightened mindfulness skills that allow then to maintain a mindful presence during sex despite feelings of heighten arousal or anxiety [15]. Even individuals who maintain a mindful daily routine may struggle to be mindful during sexual experiences, if they are overly goal-oriented, self-critical, or sexually anxious [22]. Consequently, sexually mindful parents may apply mindful skills during tense conversations with adolescents, thereby creating a sense of acceptance and connection.
Sexual mindful awareness
Moms’ sexual mindful awareness was linked to both boys’ and girls’ disclosure to their moms and for boys, more disclosure to their dads. Dads’ sexual mindful awareness was linked with more disclosure from their daughters, but not sons. Dads’ sexual mindful awareness was also associated with diminished sexual anxiety for their daughters. Moms’ sexual mindful awareness was linked with their daughters’ higher self-regulation and dad’s sexual mindful awareness was linked with their sons’ higher self-regulation. Dads' sexual mindful awareness was linked with their sons’ higher body image. These results follow the mindfulness and relationships model that suggests mindfulness creates a more open and connected relationship [13]. Oddly, moms’ sexual mindful awareness was linked with their sons’ higher general anxiety and daughters’ higher secrecy with their dads. It may be that for girls, when moms are higher in awareness, girls feel more comfortable discussing private issues with their mom and not their dad. However, future research should examine these findings.
Sexual mindful non-judgement
Dads’ non-judgement was important for boys’ reduced sexual shame and girls’ reduced sexual anxiety as well as both boys’ and girls’ higher body image. Dads’ non-judgement was also connected to boys’ reports of mindfulness. Dads’ non-judgement was associated with less girls’ secrecy with moms and less secrecy from both girls and boys with their dads.
The findings for adolescent outcomes and parents’ sexual mindfulness generally confirmed our hypotheses. Like previous research [15], which found sexual mindfulness was associated with positive adolescent outcomes, we found that sexually mindful parents had children who generally reported more positive outcomes. Somewhat related to earlier research finding partner effects with sexual mindfulness [7,8], we found that parents’ sexual mindfulness was associated with their adolescent’s outcomes. This is a hopeful message at a time when parents may struggle to stay connected to their adolescent. Instead of focusing on changing the child, parents can work on their own mindful and sexually mindful skills which may produce curiosity instead of judgement, more acceptance instead of contention, and ultimately a relationship that is more harmonious and meaningful [13]. Mindfulness, whether trait or state, like sexual mindfulness, provides space within a relationship to be more intentional and less judgemental. This type of environment might allow adolescents to be less anxious and less avoidant during conversations about sex as parents are receptive, informal, and composed [43].
Sexual communication frequency and quality
Both girls and boys assessed their parents’ openness and mutuality as more positive when moms and dads reported more mindfulness or sexual mindfulness. They also reported their parents as being less controlling. This finding is particularly important as the adolescent’s perceptions of the atmosphere around the topic of sex influences how well they receive information and how anxious they feel about sex [43]. In fact, recent research shows that mindfulness moderated the link between conflict resolution and relational satisfaction [9], which may signal that even when parents and adolescents feel differently about sexual issues they may still feel satisfied with the discussion and their relationship.
These same adolescents also report more frequent conversations on sex from both moms and dads when moms and dads reported higher aspects of mindfulness or sexual mindfulness. When asked about specific sexual topics, adolescents reported more conversations from both moms and dads about the physiology of sex, sexual risks, and the positive aspects of sex. There were a few notable exceptions to this increased level of discussion. When moms were less judgemental, adolescents reported less frequent conversations about the physiology of sex, girls reported less frequent conversations about sexual risks with their dads, and boys reported less frequent conversations about the positive aspects of sex with their dads. More research is warranted on this finding. However, it may be that moms, who are less sexually judgemental in their own sexual experiences, do not present a critical attitude toward their children’s sexuality and thereby dads feel less inclined to intervene. It may also be that mindful parents feel more united in their attitudes toward sexuality and moms remain the spokesperson on most sexual topics [60-67].
Strengths
This study has some notable strengths. One strength is our diverse sample of adolescents. But, despite our inclusion of queer or nonconforming adolescents, this sample size was small and future research should examine these findings within this population. Strength is the sample of the triad, adolescents and their mom and dads. It is important for research to include both parents of adolescents [11].
Conclusion
Despite the limitations, this study makes some salient findings concerning how parents’ mindfulness, and particularly sexual mindfulness, is positively associated with beneficial outcomes for adolescents. As parents slow down, are more accepting, and less judgemental within their own life and within their sexual interactions, they likely will create a more intentional, open, and inviting environment for their adolescent. Parents, sex educators, and therapists might consider encouraging an environment of mindfulness for parents as well as adolescents’ daily lives and sexual experiences, which may help adolescents flourish throughout the complexities of adolescence.
Limitations
An additional limitation is that these data were cross-sectional. Future research could examine these variables over time to better evaluate the associations between mindful parents and adolescent outcomes and frequency and quality of sexual conversations.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
All human studies have been approved by the Brigham Young University for review IRB ethics committee and have therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All persons gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study. We include no details that would identify participants.
Conflict of Interest
Authors declared there is no conflict of interest.
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Citation: Leavitt E, Chelom, Price A Amber, Brown L Alyssa and Lawlor M Jenna, et al. “Mindful Parents and Adolescent Sexual Communication and Outcomes.” J Child Adolesc Behav 9 (2021): 425
Copyright: © 2021 Leavitt CE, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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