Date of Award:

5-2026

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Communication Studies and Philosophy

Committee Chair(s)

Timothy Curran

Committee

Timothy Curran

Committee

Sydney O’Shay

Committee

Adena Rivera-Dundas

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the role that family communication plays in the development of sexual attitudes and sexual communication self-efficacy. Essentially, each family has a unique communication environment, which consists of how open communication is, the variety of topics a family might discuss, and expectations of conformity that parents have for their children. Attitudes toward sex can be conservative–reflecting traditional views toward sex–or progressive–reflecting tolerance and flexibility toward various sexual lifestyles. Sexual communication self-efficacy is the degree to which an individual feels comfortable communicating about sex with a sexual partner. Participants in this study were given a survey which measured their family communication environment, their sexual attitudes, and their sexual communication self-efficacy. It was found that individuals from families with high levels of expected conformity had more conservative sexual attitudes, and individuals from families who generally communicated openly had higher levels of sexual communication self-efficacy, or confidence about communicating about sex with a sexual partner. Additionally, individuals with more progressive sexual attitudes also reported higher levels of sexual communication self-efficacy.

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