Penn State Behrend’s Psychology Program held their second colloquium speaker for the Fall semester on Monday. Dr. Helyne Frederick, program director of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, was welcomed to Behrend’s Reed Auditorium to present her research on sexual health of today's youth. Her presentation called, "Communication for Healthy Sexual Development Among Youth," dealt with the communication that happens or does not happen when young adults become sexually active.

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Frederick did cross-cultural research that was related to sexuality communication and discussed issues that affect the quality of communication about sex across different cultures.

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Frederick started her presentation asking the students in the crowd to rate the quality of communication they have received about sex in the past. Not many students rose their hand, explained by the fact that many said that they received the most useful  information from parents or their school system.

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Frederick talked about the problem of the increasing rate of STI’s in the United States for individuals that are between 15-24 years old. She mentioned how it is relatively easy to find protection virtually everywhere, yet the rate of STI’s are increasing still in the U.S. Frederick later went on to explain that the United States is doing better with teenage pregnancy. According to HHS.gov, “In 1991, the U.S. teen birth rate was 61.8 births for every 1,000 adolescent females, compared with 24.2 births for every 1,000 adolescent females in 2014.”  Research is saying that communication has something to do with  these outcomes. Fredrick presented students and faculty with graphs that showed that other countries rates of STI’s are much lower than the United States, and explained how communication is what it all comes down to.

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As of now, 36 percent of teens report that they get their information about sex from family and friends, with the next highest category for teen information about sex being  28 percent from websites and the internet. Research shows, once parents suspect that their children are involved romantically, parents will up the conversation about sex.

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She concluded from all of her research and research of others, that the more open parent’s are with their children about sex and being supportive of the situation, the better the outcome is. STI rates are lower, teen pregnancy rates are lower, and children feel more comfortable talking about sex. Frederick suggests finding teachable moments that allow for parents to bring the conversation of sex up and stemming their information from there. One example of a good teachable moment Frederick suggested was the sexual abuse in Hollywood. This may allow for the conversation to come up and is easier for the parties to talk about it. She also said that respecting the privacy of children will allow for a trusting relationship to be built between parents and children. Parents should respect the privacy of their children when dealing with sex as long as they do not suspect abuse.