“It's Like What Sex Ed Should Probably Be”: Fathers’ Feedback on a Teen Health Program

Father-teen communication about sex can positively influence teens’ sexual health, but few programs provide guidance for fathers to talk with their teens about sexual topics. This study qualitatively examines fathers’ feedback on the connected dads, healthy teens intervention, an online program designed to support teens’ health and promote fathers’ sexual health communication with their teens. The research team used content analysis to analyze interviews with 25 fathers from across the united states who participated in the program with their teens. Findings showed that fathers viewed the program as impactful, describing gains in knowledge and communication skills, shifts in mindset related to their teens’ sexual health, and increased engagement and closeness with their teens. Fathers described skill-building components with tips for how to talk with teens about challenging topics as a particularly useful aspect of the program, extending beyond talk about sex and relationships. These findings highlight the potential of father-based interventions to improve fathers’ engagement with their teens to support their sexual health. It also shows the importance of concrete tools to support fathers’ parenting, which have potential to impact fathers’ engagement with their teens on topics beyond a sexual health focus. This qualitative study explored fathers’ perceptions of a father-teen program to support teens’ sexual health. Fathers described the program’s positive impact on their sexual health knowledge and communication skills. The program’s parenting tips helped fathers connect with their teens beyond a focus on talk about sex and relationships. Fathers reported positive impacts from peer support groups, emphasizing the benefits of shared experiences. This program is an example of how to support fathers’ engagement and communication with their teens.