Objectives.—Pregnancy rates among Filipino American adolescents exceed those of other Asian and
Pacific Islander adolescents. Strong parent-adolescent communication may promote healthy
sexual development and protect against adolescent sexual risk behaviors. We explored
communication barriers between Filipino American parents and adolescents.
Methods.—Using community-based participatory research (CBPR), we collaborated with Filipino
American community leaders, parents, and adolescents to design a focus-group study.
Trained bilingual moderators conducted focus groups with 85 Filipino Americans (41
parents and grandparents and 44 adolescents aged 14–18 years) from various neighborhoods
in Los Angeles. Sessions were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed for themes.
Results.—Focus-group participants appeared to divide sex information into 3 categories, which
we termed facts, feelings, and values. Adolescents emphasized facts and feelings.
Parents and grandparents emphasized facts and values. In general, facts were obtained
through school, feelings through friends, and values through parents. The focus groups
identified large barriers to value transmission, stemming from adolescent acculturation
to the United States. Parents and grandparents felt that values were transmitted best
through traditional Filipino respect for parents who often eschewed open discussion.
Adolescents believed that open discussion was necessary for value transmission to
occur. The result was bilateral withdrawal from family communication about sex.
Conclusions.—Our focus groups found that parent-child communication about sex, especially regarding
values, was limited. Potential causes included conflicts between Filipino and US beliefs
regarding respect for parents and open discussion. Our results raise important questions
about the effect of acculturation on sex education for Filipino American adolescents
and demonstrate potential advantages of CBPR.
KEY WORDS
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
August 15,
2004
Received:
April 7,
2004
Identification
Copyright
© 2005 Ambulatory Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
