Effects of a parenting sexual education program for immigrant parents: A cluster randomized trial.

Abstract

The aim was to assess the effects of a parental sex education program on knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and practices among immigrant parents. A cluster randomized trial was conducted at immigrant activity centers in northern Taiwan. Recruited participants were randomly assigned to an experimental (four centers, n = 86) or control (four centers, n = 67) group. A practical booklet and a booster session were delivered. In total, 132 participants' knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and practice of parenting sexual education were examined at the baseline and 6 weeks after the intervention. After controlling for possible confounders, the posttest scores of self-efficacy of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group. The Johnson-Neyman procedure indicated that the intervention was effective for participants who had pretest knowledge, attitude, and practice scores of <14.62, <110.27, and <41.5, respectively. An intervention with both practical booklet and booster session can improve knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy and practices of parental sex education among immigrant parents. In addition to practical booklets, health care professionals should provide booster sessions that meet the needs of immigrant parents to prevent sexual problems among children and adolescents at an early age.