Youth Empowerment Information, Data Collection, and Exploration on Avoidance of Sex (IDEAS) – Case Study of Parent Reflections

Instrument 2: Parent Discussion Guide

Virtual Focus Group Guide for SRAE Parents

The virtual focus groups will occur over the course of three days. Each day a set of new questions will be posed to the participants on a virtual focus group board. The protocol provides the questions for each of the three days, with the intent that each day contains approximately 30 minutes of questions for respondents to review, respond to, and provide comments and responses to other participants’ comments.

Day 1

1. Background (5 minutes)

Welcome! Thank you for participating in today’s focus group. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. We are interested in everyone’s experiences whether they are the same or different from one another.

I’d like to start by learning a bit more about each of you and your children who have participated in the [SRAE PROGRAM—PROVIDE BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM]. Please do not provide your or your child’s full name. You may use a first name or initials or an alias. Let’s begin!

• Please tell me the age, grade, and gender of your child or children who are/were enrolled in this program.

2. Parent contact with and participation in sexual health and risk avoidance education (5 minutes)

The next questions are about the nature and extent of your contact, as a parent, with the [SRAE PROGRAM].

• How does [SRAE PROGRAM] involve parents in programming and how have you participated in the past (if at all)?

• How did the program reach out to parents and what types of information has the program shared?

• In general, what makes it challenging for you or other parents to participate and engage in programs like [SRAE program]?

- Was there ever a time you wanted to participate, but couldn’t? If so, why?

- What would make it easier for you (or other parents) to participate?

• What do you think are the best ways to engage parents in sexual health education programming?

III. Various sources of information related to sexual health education (20 minutes)

The next questions are about the sources of information and education your youth may have received related to sexual health education, healthy relationships, and risk avoidance—including from the [SRAE program], as well as other sources. Please focus on the youth who is participating in or eligible for the [SRAE program].

• Where has your child received information on sexual health education, healthy relationships, or risk avoidance? For example, from [the SRAE PROGRAM and/or another program], you and/or another parent, other adults, a church or place of worship, a doctor or provider at a health clinic, friends, siblings, social media or the Internet?

• What key information, and messages have your youth already received from schools or other sources outside the home about sexual health education?

• What were key topics/themes covered? How much do you feel like you know about what they covered? For example, this may include topics such as understanding reproduction, pregnancy, and STIs; healthy relationships, consent, waiting to have sex, contraception, how to resist pressure to have sex.

• Clarify the source of the topics discussed (e.g., child discussed it, you received information from the school about it, etc.)

• What information and messages do you want your youth to receive from schools or other sources outside the home on sexual health and related topics? This may include topics such as understanding reproduction pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases and infections; healthy relationships; consent; waiting to have sex and when to have sex; contraception; how to resist pressure to have sex.

• Thinking about the [SRAE program or other programs your youth has/have participated in, what did you as a parent like best about the program? Please clarify the program to which you refer.

• What information, education, or other aspects of the program seemed most helpful/valuable? What made it helpful/valuable?

• Was anything missing, or do you have suggestions for improvement? Please describe.

Day 2

Welcome back! Thank you for participating in today’s focus group. I’d like for you to start by reviewing the content from yesterday. Please review any comments from others in the group and provide your own additional comments. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. We are interested in everyone’s experiences whether they are the same or different from one another.

After reviewing and providing additional feedback from yesterday, please respond to today’s questions.

1. Review and respond to day 1 (10 minutes)

II . Parent-youth communication (20 minutes)

The next set of questions are about your conversations with your youth about romantic relationships, dating, and sex.

• Thinking about romantic relationships, dating, and sex: what are you currently most concerned about or focused on related to your youth? Have you talked with them about your concerns? Why/Why not?

• What are your expectations as a parent with regards to youth sexual behavior and the appropriate time in a person’s life to initiate sexual activity? Have you conveyed these expectations to your child? If so, how?

• What other types of discussions have you had in the past year with your youth related to sexual health education, relationships, and risk avoidance, and what messages have you tried to convey? For example, related to who they are dating; what makes a healthy relationship; how to resist pressure from partners or peers to have sex; waiting to have sex and when to have sex; understanding reproduction, pregnancy, and STIs; contraception/birth control.

• What types of support would you find helpful to facilitate these conversations with your youth about these topics?

• Has the [SRAE PROGRAM] done anything to help facilitate parent-youth communication? If so, what?

• Thinking specifically about youth and their use of social media: Have you had discussions in the past year with your youth related to social media and internet use, and if so, what have these discussions involved?

• How comfortable and/or knowledgeable do you feel talking with your youth about their social media use?

• Do you have concerns related to their social media use? Please tell me more about that.

Day 3

Welcome back! Thank you for participating in the final day of our focus group. I’d like for you to start by reviewing the content from yesterday. Please review any comments from others in the group and provide your own additional comments. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. We are interested in everyone’s experiences whether they are the same or different from one another.

After reviewing and providing additional feedback from yesterday, please respond to today’s questions.

1. Review and respond to day 1 (10 minutes)

2. Reflections on youth decision making (15 minutes)

Young people make different decisions about whether and when to have sex. Our next questions are about the reasons that youth decide to engage in sexual activity or not.

• How do you think youth make decisions about whether and when to engage in sexual activity?

• What are the reasons you think youth decide not to engage in sexual activity?

• What are the reasons you think youth decide to engage in sexual activity?

• What are the pressures and/or expectations youth may experience to have (or not have) sex?

• How much influence do you feel you have on your youth’s sexual behavior and decision making?

• Are there any messages that you think have resonated particularly well with your youth around their sexual behavior and decision making? Please describe, thinking in particular about messages conveyed through the [SRAE program] or other programs.

• Were there any messages that did not resonate well?

• Please clarify the source of the messages discussed, for example did the message come from the [SRAE program], school, another person.

III. Wrap-up (5 minutes)

Thank you! Those are the last questions we have for the group.

We welcome any final thoughts related to any of the topics we’ve discussed over the past three days. If you have additional thoughts or opinions, please provide them here.

Thank you for participating in this focus group.

We appreciate your time and your feedback is very important to us!