Young women's experience of sexuality as a function of perceptions of parental sexual communication during childhood

The purpose of the current study was to examine young women's perceptions of both verbal and nonverbal sexual communication from their mothers during childhood and how these perceptions are related to the female offspring's current sexual experiences and attitudes. More specifically, I hypothesized that perceptions of negative parental sexual communication will be related to relatively low levels of sexual experience, comfort regarding sexual activity, and sexual assertiveness, as well as negative affect and cognition regarding sexuality. I also hypothesized that female offspring will receive significantly more sexual communication from mother than from father. Finally, predicted that the communication received from mother, as opposed to father, will be related to high levels of sexual experience, sexual comfort, sexual assertiveness, and more positive sexual affect and cognition. There were 295 female college students who completed questionnaires regarding sexual experience, comfort with sexual activity, sexual assertiveness, perceptions of parental sexual communication, affective and cognitive properties of sexual attitude, and erotophobia/erotophilia. Perceptions of parental sexual communication were measured with a survey developed specifically for the current study. Two forms of this survey were used; one to measure mother's verbal communication and the other to measure nonverbal communication. Results showed a negative correlation between tone of parental sexual communication and sexual experience, as well as a positive correlation between parental sexual communication and sexual cognition. The results of this study also showed that more sexual communication is perceived from mother than from father, and amount of mother's communication was significantly related to sexual assertiveness and affective properties of sexual attitudes.Department of Psychological ScienceThesis (M.A.