Concerns and educational needs of Iranian parents regarding the sexual health of their male adolescents: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Parents play an important role in promoting the sexual health of their adolescents. However, many parents experience several challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore the concerns and educational needs of Iranian parents regarding the sexual health of their male adolescents. METHODS: This qualitative study was designed based on the conventional content analysis approach. Semi-structured and in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 parents of male adolescents aged 12–18 years. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were collected through purposeful sampling and continued until data saturation. Finally, the Graneheim and Landman strategies were used to analyze data. RESULTS: According to the participants’ comments, four main categories were extracted as follows: fear of emotional and sexual harms, quality of parent-child relationships, effect of media and cyberspace, and necessity of sexuality health education. CONCLUSIONS: The findings highlighted the need for sexuality health education through cooperation with schools for offering appropriate education to the students, parents, and school staffs. The results showed that parents required training to enhance their knowledge and skills to improve their communication with their adolescents about sexuality issues. Therefore, it is necessary to design, implement, and evaluate culture-appropriate educational programs to address the parents’ concerns regarding adolescents’ sexual health.