Single African American mothers' perceptions of their role in promoting responsible sexuality in their sons
Abstract
This study is an investigation of single African-American mothers' perceptions of their role in promoting responsible sexual attitudes and behavior in sons, the actual communication and modeling behaviors single African-American mothers use in establishing a supportive climate for sex discussions with sons, difficulties single African-American mothers experience in communicating with sons, and single African-American mothers' perceptions of the need for assistance in enacting their roles as sexual socializers and educators. This study involved a three-step design, beginning with surveys, then focus group interviews, and finally moving to in-depth interviews. Surveys were collected from 82 single African-American mothers of sons. Fifteen mothers participated in the focus group interviews, and two mothers participated in the in-depth interviews. The quantitative data were collected to test exploratory hypotheses about factors related to mothers' supportive sex discussions. Concurrently, qualitative data collection and analysis techniques (such as open-ended interviewing and constant comparative analysis) were used to elicit mothers' verbal descriptions of their perceptions and experiences. Findings from the quantitative data indicate that the more open the communication between mother and son and the more positive mothers' attitude toward premarital intercourse for teenagers, the more supportive she is in discussing sex. The salient themes to emerge from the qualitative data suggest that: (1) mothers who communicated supportively were more inclined to accept premarital sex for sons than mothers who communicated less supportively; and (2) mothers confronted contradictions in promoting sexual responsibility in sons.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Jurich, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Individual & family studies|Black studies|Social psychology|African American Studies
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