Defensive Communication Climate as a Barrier to Sex Education in the Home

This paper uses Gibbs categories of supportive and defensive communication climates to investigate whether substantial differences exist in the communication climate during discussions of sexuality between undergraduates (N=194) in Kansas and their parents and undergraduates and their closest friends. Results indicated that Gibbs categories can be collapsed into 1 factor labeled communication climate. Data indicate that the climate between parents and children is more defensive than the climate between peers during discussions of sexuality. While peers provide the most sex information mothers outrank fathers as sex information providers. Gibbs categories of defensive climates are: evaluation; control; strategy; neutrality; superiority; and certainty. His categories for supportive climates are: description; problem orientation; spontaneity; empathy; equality; and provisionalism. Subjects were given questionnaires to complete. The study focused on computing and comparing students perceived communication climate existant between themselves and their mothers. Fathers same-sex peers and opposite-sex peers concerning conversations about sexuality. Using the methodology of self-report of the students perceptions of the communication climate in conversations with their parents and peers is a major limitation. What may be needed is an interactional interpersonal approach that views the family as a unit or system and takes into account multiple perspectives on communication climate.