Generational differences in the sexual communication process of African American grandparent and parent caregivers of adolescents.

Purpose: This study assessed generational differences in the sexual communication process between 40 African American parent and 40 grandparent caregivers of adolescent children.

Design And Methods: The study reports findings from a secondary analysis of data from two databases. The HIV Risk Reduction Survey was used to examine the sexual communication process.

Results: Grandparents wanted to talk about sex and had open sexual communications, while parents valued sexual abstinence and had limited communications.

Practice Implications: Based on the findings, healthcare providers and programs need to recognize that differences do exist between parents and grandparents with sexual communications.