Parents, LGBTQ teens struggle to discuss sex

Growing up, Joyce Guo rarely talked about sex or intimate relationships with her parents, conversations that might have been more difficult because she identifies as queer and gender nonbinary.

“I think I probably would have wanted a more open dialogue about gender and sexuality,” said Guo, 20, a sophomore at Columbia College Chicago. “I think the general noncommunication came from both sides.”

New research from Northwestern University explores how parents of LGBTQ teens often struggle when discussing sex with their children, sometimes because of discomfort or lack of information. However, a separate university study of gay and bisexual male teens found that many longed to be closer to their parents and better able to converse with them about sexuality and dating.

Historically, there’s been little academic study of how parenting can affect the sexual behavior of LGBTQ youths, said researcher Michael Newcomb, associate director for scientific development for the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health at Northwest- ern’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

“We know a lot about how parents can influence the heterosexual teen’s sexual health, but we know very little about how parents can affect the sexual health of LGBTQ teens,” he said. “And in some ways, the same parenting practices would be relevant to LGBTQ teens, like talking to your kids about sex, monitoring who they’re hanging out with, who they’re dating, all those types of things.”