Keywords

Sexual Health; College Students; Parental Influence

Abstract

College students account for some of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) annually in America. Interventions aimed at reducing the number of cases in this emerging population are needed. This study utilized a secondary data analysis of an online survey administered to college students from August 2018 to December 2022 to examine their sexual literacy and overall sexual health. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between parental influence and the sexual health of college students by exploring variables such as parent-child communication, race/ethnicity, and parental background. Using IBM SPSS Statistics 30, results indicated that students were generally satisfied with their sexual experiences. Additionally, sexual experiences, sexual health knowledge, sexual education experiences, and sexual empowerment were all found to be significant in relation to students’ ability to discuss sexual health issues with their mothers. These findings suggest that parental influence may play a significant role in the overall sexual health of emerging adults. For instance, strong-parent child communication can serve as an intervention and lead to a decline in sexual risk behavior. Although the impact of parental influence on STI rates was not directly measured, research suggests that parental influence can lead to an increase in sexual risk behavior discussion with their partners, contraceptive use, and likelihood of testing for STIs. Additionally, results showed that multiple factors contribute to college students’ sexual health outcomes. Further research is needed to identify specific parental interventions that can help increase the overall sexual health of college students in America.

Thesis Completion Year

2026

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Coudray, Makella

College

College of Health Professions and Sciences

Thesis Discipline

Health Sciences

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus Access

None

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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Public Health Commons

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