Investigating the Relationship of Parenting Styles with Parents’ Sexual Knowledge and Attitude and the Level of Interest in Talking about Sexual Issues in Shirazi Families

The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between parenting styles with parents’ sexual knowledge and attitude and the level of interest in talking about sexual issues with children in Shiraz. Therefore, 160 parents with children were selected by convenience sampling as a statistical sample. The data were collected by Parenting Styles Questionnaire (Baumrind, 1991), Parents’ Interest in Talking about Sexual Issues (Koblinsky & Atkinson, 1982), and Sexual Knowledge and Attitude Scale (Besharat, 2005). The reliability of the instruments was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha. The relationship between each dimension of parenting styles and parents’ sexual knowledge and attitude and interest in talking about sexual issues was examined using correlation and regression analysis. The results revealed a significant negative relationship between authoritarian parenting style and interest in talking about sexual issues. There was a significant positive relationship between authoritative parenting style and sexual knowledge and attitude. Furthermore, no significant relationship was found between permissive parenting style and sexual knowledge and attitude, and interest in talking about sexual issues in the family. However, even with the introduction of sexual knowledge and attitudes as predictors, the authoritarian parenting style still negatively predicted the level of parents’ interest in discussing sexual issues. According to the results, the best parenting style for communicating with children and talking about sexual issues is the authoritative parenting style. Parents should increase their knowledge and awareness about sexual issues and learn the principles of authoritative parenting to prevent high-risk and harmful behaviors in children.