The mean age of the respondents was 15.3 years with a standard deviation of 1.7. Of the 810 respondents, all were Sinhalese. Among them 94.7% (n = 767) were Buddhists, 3.4% (n = 28) were Christian and 1.8% (n = 15) were Catholic.
The majority (n = 712, 88.8%) of the respondents were schooling. Some (n = 51, 6.3%) were engaged in higher studies, while 1.4% (n = 11) were studying at a vocational training school. Few (1.0%, n = 8) were engaged in full-time or part-time employment while 2.5% (n = 20) were neither studying nor employed.
Out of the respondents, a majority (30.3%, n = 238) reported a monthly family income of Rs.20,000-Rs.50,000. Only 15.4% (n = 122) reported a monthly income above Rs.50,000, while 15% (n = 120) claimed of having an income less than Rs.20,000 per month. However, many were not aware of their monthly family income (38%, n = 308).
Almost 92.9% (n = 743) had siblings at home while 7.1% (n = 57) did not have any siblings. A majority (n = 668, 82.5%) of the mothers had an education above the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level examination (G.C.E. O/L) as reported by the adolescents. However, there were few mothers (n = 6, 0.8%) who had never attended school. While only 23.5% (n = 190) mothers were employed, 76.5% (n = 620) mothers of the participants were not employed.
Adolescent Girl'S Perception Of Sharing Sexual Health Information With Mother
In the opinion of 67.1% (n = 540) adolescent girls, it was a good decision to discuss SRH-related matters with mothers. A greater proportion of the girls (86.4%, n = 698) thought that talking to their mothers about SRH-related matters will help to protect themselves from sexual harm in future. Nearly 27% (n = 207) of the girls were doubtful about their mothers' ability to answer their sexual health matters (Table 1).
Table 1
Adolescent Girl's Perception of Sharing Sexual Health Information with Mother
Item | Yes | No | Don't Know |
| N | % | N | % | N | % |
Do you think discussing sex-related matters with your mother is a good decision(n = 805) | 540 | 67.1 | 265 | 32.9 | - | - |
Do you think it would be helpful to talk to your mother about sex-related matters to protect yourself from any such issues that might happen in the future (n = 808) | 698 | 86.4 | 8 | 1.0 | 102 | 12.6 |
Do you think your mother has the ability to answer your SRH related matters (n = 779) | 570 | 73.2 | 22 | 2.8 | 187 | 24.0 |
Are you satisfied with your mother's answers to your questions on sexual health (n = 792) | 557 | 70.3 | 76 | 9.6 | 159 | 20.1 |
*SRH- Sexual and Reproductive health
Sexual And Reproductive Health Topics Discussed Between The Mothers And Daughters
Many mothers (94%, n = 744) had talked to their adolescents about keeping body limits. Many (88.4%, n = 701) had discussions with their daughters on menstrual related issues, while 72.6%, n = 574) had had discussions on preventing sexual violence.
More than half (57.6%, n = 455) of the adolescent girls in the sample had discussed about love, relationships and marriages with their mothers. Only 38.7% (n = 305) had discussed about the consequences of premarital sex while 40.1% (n = 317) had discussed about preventing STI, and 38% (n = 305) about preventing unwanted pregnancy. A percentage of adolescents had discussed with their mothers about pregnancy and conception was 34.7% (n = 271), when only 21.0% (n = 166) in the sample had discussed about homosexuality (Table 2).
Table 2
Sexual and Reproductive Health Topics Discussed Between the Mothers and Daughters
Variable | Yes | No |
| N | % | N | % |
Has your mother ever talked to you about problems related to the menstrual cycle and puberty (n = 793) | 701 | 88.4 | 92 | 11.6 |
Has your mother ever talked to you about the consequences of premarital sex (n = 788) | 305 | 38.7 | 483 | 61.3 |
Has your mother ever talked to you about love, relationships, and marriages (n = 790) | 455 | 57.6 | 335 | 42.4 |
Has your mother ever talked to you about pregnancy and conception (n = 780) | 271 | 34.7 | 509 | 65.3 |
Has your mother ever talked to you about preventing unwanted pregnancy (n = 790) | 305 | 38.6 | 485 | 61.4 |
Have you ever had a discussion with your mother about homosexuality (n = 790) | 166 | 21.0 | 624 | 79.0 |
Have you ever discussed with your mother about sexually transmitted infection (n = 790) | 317 | 40.1 | 473 | 59.9 |
Has your mother ever talked to you regarding protecting yourself from sexual violence (n = 791) | 574 | 72.6 | 217 | 27.4 |
Has your mother ever explained to you about keeping body limits (n = 792) | 744 | 94.0 | 48 | 6.0 |
Adolescent Perceived Barriers For Discussing Sex-related Matters With Mothers
Fifty six percent (56.3%, n = 456) of the girls in the study refrained from discussing sexual health matters with mothers due to the fear of the negative perception of the mother. Out of the respondents, 46.8% (n = 379) worried about the cultural restraints over discussing sexual problems in open. Nearly one-fifth of the girls (18.4%, n = 149) said that the mother's inability to respond to their questions on sexual health matters was a barrier to a discussion (Table 3).
Table 3
Adolescent Perceived Barriers to Discussing Sex-Related Matters with Mothers
Variable | Yes | No |
| N | % | N | % |
I’m scared about how my mother will perceive it (n = 810) | 456 | 56.3 | 354 | 43.7 |
Open discussion on sex-related matters is not culturally acceptable(n = 810) | 379 | 46.8 | 431 | 53.2 |
I’m embarrassed over discussing sex-related matters with parents (n = 810) | 36 | 4.4 | 774 | 95.6 |
My mother can’t respond to my sexual issues (n = 810) | 149 | 18.4 | 661 | 81.6 |
My mother doesn’t want to share sex-related information with me (n = 809) | 36 | 4.4 | 773 | 95.6 |
My mother doesn't understand my needs (n = 808) | 43 | 5.3 | 765 | 94.7 |
My mother is too busy. She can't find time to discuss it with me (n = 810) | 135 | 16.7 | 675 | 83.3 |
Current Modes Of Sexual Health Information To Adolescent Girls
Many adolescent girls (n = 687, 84.8%) reported 'mother' as a current mode of sexual health information for them. However, only 6.7% (n = 54) of the girls reported getting sexual health information from their fathers. The percentage of girls who reported their siblings and friends as modes of sexual health information was 22% (n = 178) and 69.5% (n = 563), respectively. Nearly thirty-four percent (n = 271) of the girls said they were getting sexual health information from health officers while seventy percent (n = 570) of the girls revealed teacher as a source of sexual health information.
More than half of the sample (n = 434, 53.6%) claimed that they were getting information from books and journals, while 41.7% (n = 338) obtained sexual health facts via television. Only 14.9% of the adolescent girls (n = 121) were using the internet to get sexual health information (Table 4).
Table 4
Current Modes of Sexual Health Information to Adolescent Girls
Mode of sexual health information (n = 810) | Yes | No |
| Frequency (N) | Percentage (%) | Frequency (N) | Percentage (%) |
Father | 54 | 6.7 | 756 | 93.3 |
Mother | 687 | 84.8 | 123 | 15.2 |
Teachers | 570 | 70.3 | 240 | 29.7 |
Siblings | 178 | 22.0 | 632 | 78.0 |
Health officers | 271 | 33.5 | 539 | 66.5 |
Friends | 563 | 69.5 | 247 | 30.5 |
Books and Journals | 434 | 53.6 | 376 | 46.4 |
Television | 338 | 41.7 | 472 | 58.3 |
Internet | 121 | 14.9 | 689 | 85.1 |
Associations Of Mother-daughter Sexual And Reproductive Health Communication With Selected Demographic Factors
In binary logistic regression model with two predictor variables showed that age and family income were significantly associated with mother-daughter SRH communication (X2 = 51.33, df = 6, P < 0.01). It was seen that a mother’s communication of SRH matters with a daughter aged above 15 was 2.8 times (AOR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.9–4.2) higher compared to those less than 15, when adjusted for other confounding variables (p < 0.001) [Table 5].
Similarly, mother-adolescent daughter communication of SRH matters was 2.4 times (AOR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.5–3.8) more in families with high-income levels than in low-income families (p < 0.001) [Table 5].
Table 5
Binary Logistic Regression Analysis of Mother-Daughter Sexual and Reproductive Health Communication with selected Demographic Factors
Characteristic | Perceived mother-daughter communication of sex | Total | Unadjusted OR | Adjusted |
| Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | No | % | | OR |
| N | % | No | % | | | | (95%CI) |
Age of the adolescent girl (n = 807) | | | | | | | | |
< 15yrs (0) | 193 | 62.2 | 117 | 37.8 | 310 | 100 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
≥ 15yrs (1) | 177 | 35.6 | 320 | 64.4 | 497 | 100 | (2.2–4.4) | (1.9–4.2) |
Family income (n = 480) | | | | | | | | |
< Rs.50,000 (0) | 148 | 41.3 | 210 | 58.7 | 358 | 100 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
≥ Rs. 50,000 (1) | 76 | 62.3 | 46 | 37.7 | 122 | 100 | (1.5–3.5) | (1.5–3.8) |
Schooling status (n = 802) | | | | | | | | |
Schooling (1) | 315 | 44.2 | 397 | 55.8 | 712 | 100 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
Out of school (0) | 52 | 57.6 | 38 | 42.4 | 90 | 100 | (1.1–2.6) | (0.7–2.7) |
Religion (n = 808) | | | | | | | | |
Buddhist (1) | 362 | 47.2 | 405 | 52.8 | 767 | 100 | 3.1 | 1.2 |
Non-Buddhist (0) | 9 | 22.0 | 32 | 78.0 | 41 | 100 | (1.4–6.7) | (0.6–1.6) |
Mothers’ highest Education (n = 762) | | | | | | | | |
Below GCE.O/L (0) | 37 | 39.4 | 57 | 60.6 | 94 | 100 | 1.4 | 1.8 |
G.C.E.O/L &above (1) | 320 | 47.9 | 348 | 52.1 | 668 | 100 | (0.9–2.2) | (0.9–3.3) |
Mothers’ Employment status(n = 810) | | | | | | | | |
Employed | 98 | 51.6 | 92 | 48.4 | 190 | 100 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
Unemployed or homemakers | 273 | 44.0 | 347 | 56.0 | 620 | 100 | (1.0–2.0) | (0.9–2.2) |
*Binary logistic regression, significance at P < 0.05 level