OBJECTIVES: Sexual health discussions between parents and their preadolescent youth can delay sexual debut and increase condom and contraceptive use. However, parents frequently report being uncomfortable talking with their youth about sex, often reporting a lack of self-efficacy and skills to inform and motivate responsible decision making by youth. Intergenerational games may support parent-youth sexual health communication. The purpose of this study was to explore parent and youth perspectives on a proposed intergenerational game designed to increase effective parent-youth sexual health communication and skills training. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight focus groups were conducted: four with parents (n=20) and four with their 11-14-year-old youth (n=19), to identify similarities and differences in perspectives on gaming context, delivery channel, content, and design (components, features, and function) that might facilitate dyadic sexual health communication. RESULTS: Participants concurred that a sex education game could improve communication while being responsive to family time constraints. They affirmed the demand for an immersive story-based educational adventure game using mobile platforms and flexible communication modalities. Emergent themes informed the development of a features inventory (including educational and gaming strategies, communication components, channel, and setting) and upper-level program flow to guide future game development. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the potential of a game to be a viable medium to bring a shared dyadic sexual health educational experience to parents and youth that could engage them in a motivationally appealing way to meaningfully impact their sexual health communication and youth sexual risk behaviors.
OBJECTIVES: Sexual health discussions between parents and their preadolescent youth can delay sexual debut and increase condom and contraceptive use. However, parents frequently report being uncomfortable talking with their youth about sex, often reporting a lack of self-efficacy and skills to inform and motivate responsible decision making by youth. Intergenerational games may support parent-youth sexual health communication. The purpose of this study was to explore parent and youth perspectives on a proposed intergenerational game designed to increase effective parent-youth sexual health communication and skills training. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eight focus groups were conducted: four with parents (n=20) and four with their 11-14-year-old youth (n=19), to identify similarities and differences in perspectives on gaming context, delivery channel, content, and design (components, features, and function) that might facilitate dyadic sexual health communication. RESULTS:Participants concurred that a sex education game could improve communication while being responsive to family time constraints. They affirmed the demand for an immersive story-based educational adventure game using mobile platforms and flexible communication modalities. Emergent themes informed the development of a features inventory (including educational and gaming strategies, communication components, channel, and setting) and upper-level program flow to guide future game development. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the potential of a game to be a viable medium to bring a shared dyadic sexual health educational experience to parents and youth that could engage them in a motivationally appealing way to meaningfully impact their sexual health communication and youth sexual risk behaviors.
Authors: M D Resnick; P S Bearman; R W Blum; K E Bauman; K M Harris; J Jones; J Tabor; T Beuhring; R E Sieving; M Shew; M Ireland; L H Bearinger; J R Udry Journal: JAMA Date: 1997-09-10 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Barri Burrus; Kimberly D Leeks; Theresa Ann Sipe; Suzanne Dolina; Robin Soler; Randy Elder; Lisa Barrios; Arlene Greenspan; Dan Fishbein; Mary Lou Lindegren; Angeli Achrekar; Patricia Dittus Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2012-03 Impact factor: 5.043
Authors: Susan R Tortolero; Christine M Markham; Melissa Fleschler Peskin; Ross Shegog; Robert C Addy; S Liliana Escobar-Chaves; Elizabeth R Baumler Journal: J Adolesc Health Date: 2009-08-18 Impact factor: 5.012
Authors: Laura Kann; Steve Kinchen; Shari L Shanklin; Katherine H Flint; Joseph Kawkins; William A Harris; Richard Lowry; Emily O'Malley Olsen; Tim McManus; David Chyen; Lisa Whittle; Eboni Taylor; Zewditu Demissie; Nancy Brener; Jemekia Thornton; John Moore; Stephanie Zaza Journal: MMWR Suppl Date: 2014-06-13
Authors: Ross Shegog; Laura Armistead; Christine Markham; Sara Dube; Hsing-Yi Song; Pooja Chaudhary; Angela Spencer; Melissa Peskin; Diane Santa Maria; J Michael Wilkerson; Robert Addy; Susan Tortolero Emery; Jeffery McLaughlin Journal: JMIR Serious Games Date: 2021-01-27 Impact factor: 4.143
Authors: Hussein Haruna; Xiao Hu; Samuel Kai Wah Chu; Robin R Mellecker; Goodluck Gabriel; Patrick Siril Ndekao Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2018-09-17 Impact factor: 3.390