The mediating role of attitudes towards sexual education in the relationship between fathers’ social anxiety and sexual communication language: a cross-sectional study in Turkey
Children and Youth Services Review, cilt.186, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 186
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.109009
- Dergi Adı: Children and Youth Services Review
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index, Social Sciences Abstracts
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Attitude towards sexual education, Father-child communication, Mediating role, Sexual communication language, Social anxiety
- Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Background/Objectives: The present study sought to explore the associations between fathers’ levels of social anxiety, their attitudes towards sexual education, and the language they employ in sexual communication with their children aged 3 to 11, with a particular focus on the mediating role of attitudes towards sexual education in these associations. Methods: Research data were obtained from a sample of 587 fathers. “Social Anxiety Scale”, “Attitude Towards Sexual Education Scale” and “Sexual Communication Scale for Parents” were used as data collection tools. Data were analyzed using JASP software. Descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression analyses were applied. Results: The findings revealed that fathers’ social anxiety was significantly negatively associated with both their attitudes towards sexual education [β = −0.53, p < 0.001) and their use of sexual communication language with their children [β = −0.28, p < 0.001). Furthermore, attitudes towards sexual education were significantly positively associated with sexual communication language [β = 0.22, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis indicated that attitudes towards sexual education partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety and sexual communication language. Approximately 30% of the total association was accounted for by this indirect pathway [β = −0.12, p < 0.001). The indirect effect explained approximately 29.6% of the total relationship between social anxiety and sexual communication language, confirming a partial mediation through attitudes toward sexual education. Conclusions: These findings were contextualized and discussed within the framework of relevant empirical and theoretical literature.