Evaluating the efficacy of a brief parental education program to aid parents' communication with children about sexuality.

INTERVENTION: Intervention The intervention aims to increase parental knowledge, skills and confidence in communicating to their child about age appropriate sexuality topics. The Parenting and Family Support Centre (PFSC) at the University of Queensland and Family Planning Queensland (FPQ) have collaborated to develop a brief intervention program to teach parents how to educate their children about sexuality. Contents of the program were guided by the data collected from Morawska and colleagues’ (in press) study, where parents were asked what they would like to see included in a possible intervention to help them teach their children about sexuality. Some topics include, teaching parents what and how to teach children about sexuality, how children learn about sexuality, to be aware of parent traps, the importance of learning about sexuality, responding positively to sexual behaviours, using correct sexual terminology, answering children’s questions about sexuality (e.g. where do babies come from?), and sexuality conversation starters. The intervention consists of one, 2‐hour group discussion, Positive Parenting for Communicating about Sexuality. The content of the sessions draws on the theoretical principles that form the basis of Triple P, and is designed to be interactive and provide opportunities for discussion. The session is designed as an introduction to the principles of positive parenting in the context of parent‐child communication about sexuality. It aims to promote positive parenting practices, assist parents to develop effective communication methods and help create environments conducive to caring relationships between parents and their children. Topics covered include (1) Understanding sexuality (2) Being aware of parent traps (3) Responding positively to sexual behaviours (4) Using correct sexuality terminology (5) Answering children’s questions about sexuality (6) Using positive redirections and conversation starters. The discussion groups will be delivered by trained educators at Family Planning Queensland and the Parenting and Family Support Centre at the University of Queensland. Protocol adherence Practitioners deliver Triple P according to a standardised manual and follow treatment delivery protocols, and complete protocol adherence checklists for each session conducted. Practitioners will receive regular clinical supervision. Group sessions will be videotaped and independently coded for protocol adherence, using structured session checklists. The inter‐rater reliability (kappa) of this coding will be assessed for 25% of videotaped sessions by a second rater. CONDITION: Inadequate parental communication about sexuality with children. PRIMARY OUTCOME: Parental self‐efficacy relating to communication to children about sexuality assessed by self‐reported questionnaires (Parental Self‐efficacy about Sexuality Scale, by Morawska, Grabski & Fletcher, 2013). Perceived barriers to communication to children about sexuality assessed by self‐reported questionnaires (Reasons for Communication about Sexuality Scale, by Morawska, Grabski & Teo). Self‐reported effective parenting strategies for child sexual development assessed by self‐reported questionnaires (the Parenting Strategies for Child Sexual Development Scale by Morawska, Grabski & Fletcher, 2013). ; INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Presence in the family of a 3‐10 year old child 2. The parent is concerned about the child’s sexual development SECONDARY OUTCOME: General child behavior assessed by self‐reported questionnaires (Child Adjustment and Parent Efficacy Scale by Morawska & Sanders, 2010). General patterns of Parent‐Child Communication assessed by self‐reported questionnaires (Parent‐Child Communication Scale modified from the revised Family Communication Pattern by Ritchie & Fitzpatrick, 1990). Observed effective parenting strategies for child sexual development assessed by an observation task (requiring the parent to read two story books to their child) by Morawska, Grabski & Teo). ; Parental comfort about communicating about sexuality to children assessed by self‐reported questionnaires (Parental Comfort about Sexuality Scale, Morawska, Grabski & Teo). Parental knowledge about child sexuality issues assessed by self‐reported questionnaires (Parental Knowledge about Sexuality Scale, Morawska, Grabski & Teo).