Parent-Youth Communication to Reduce At-Risk Sexual Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review

There are nearly 110 million cases of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that annually there are more than 19.7 million new STI cases. Of those, more than half are accounted for by youth aged 15 to 24 years. Although some STIs are not considered to be life threatening, they can lead to severe health problems, risk of HIV infection or infertility if they are not properly treated. Some research has shown that parent-youth communication can reduce youth's at-risk sexual behaviors. The following is a systematic review of the literature on parent-youth sexual communication and family-level interventions designed to reduce risky sexual behavior in youth.