The Role of Parental Communication and Peer Group in Healthy Sexual Behavior

Background: There is growing recognition of the importance of addressing the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents. Reproductive health, however, is not just about sex. It is part of a holistic health program starting from early age teaching values and understanding the anatomy and physiology of their bodies. This study aimed to examine the role of parental communication and peer group in healthy sexual behavior among adolescents. Subjects and Method: This was a cross sectional study carried out in 15 senior high schools in Mojokerto, East Java, from April to May 2018. A sample of 200 students was selected for this study by stratified random sampling. The dependent variable was healthy sexual behavior. The independent variables were parental communication and peer group. The data were collected by questionnaire and analyzed by a multiple logistic regression. Results: Healthy sexual behavior increased with good parental communication (OR= 10.29; 95% CI= 2.66 to 39.73; p= 0.001) and peer group (OR= 46.98; 95% CI= 11 to 200.64; p