Adolescent–parent communication about sexual and reproductive health among junior high school students in five areas with the highest prevalence of HIV in Indonesia: A qualitative study

Objective: To explore female adolescents’ perceptions of their communication with their mothers on the topics of sexuality and reproductive health. Method: A qualitative methodology was used for this study. Data were obtained via focus-group discussions involving 78 female junior high school students, aged 11–15 years. The data were analyzed using content analysis. This study was conducted in Papua, Bali, Jakarta, Riau, and Pontianak. Result: Several themes: (1) knowledge of sexuality and reproductive health, (2) mothers as primary sources of information about reproductive health, (3) factors facilitating communication between adolescents girls and their mothers with mothers, and (4) problems faced by adolescent girls when discussing SRH. Conclusion: Although mothers and daughters communicate freely about many topics; however, discussions of SRH occur infrequently. Parent-based approaches could be effective strategies, especially in terms of improving communication with daughters.