Protective Communication: an Exploratory Mixed Methods Study of Black Parents’ Communication about Sexual Health and Trauma in the Context of Structural Racism

Abstract This exploratory sequential mixed methods study examines Black parent-child sexual health communication within the context of the intersections of structural racism and victim-blaming beliefs. Phase 1 included focus groups with community “advisory panelists” ( N = 5) to provide community perceptions and experiences working with Black families. The second phase, a cross-sectional survey of Black parents ( N = 457), resulted in a statistically significant relationship between rape myth acceptance and perceived discrimination among parents and significant associations between both parents’ perceived discrimination and worry about their children experiencing racism and parents’ communication about sexual health. The final phase included follow-up focus groups ( N = 21) with Black parents to expand further on the findings of the previous phases, resulting in three critical themes: (1) protection from intergenerational silencing and trauma; (2) protection from the intersections of racist and sexist tropes; (3) protection through the village – communication that breaks the cycle of silence. Utilizing Intersectionality as a theoretical framework, the results confirmed a protective framing of parent-child communication. The findings were integrated across all three phases, identifying perceived racial discrimination as a primary socio-cultural context that influences Black parental communication regarding sexual health and trauma. Moreover, the study’s implications include baseline data for the development of interventions to strengthen the effectiveness of parent-child sexual health communication that are culturally relevant and reduce victim-blaming behaviors.