Let’s talk about sex baby

Abstract

Background. Sexual regret is an important emotional outcome of sexual behaviour and is particularly relevant for girls, who face more social and biological risks than boys. Frequent child-parent conversations can support youth in making more informed sexual decisions. This study investigates gender differences in regret related to (French) kissing and other sexual activities, and whether the frequency of child-parent communication about consent moderates these differences. Methods. Data is drawn from the Dutch 2009 wave of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study; a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey among secondary school students and their parents (N = 2545, mean adolescent age = 13.7 years). Logistic regressions analyse the gender differences in sexual regret and the moderating impact of the quantity of child-parent communication on consent, while controlling for age, religiosity, experience with sexual intercourse, migration background and educational level. Results. No gender differences were found in regret of (French) kissing. However, girls were more likely to regret other sexual activities than boys. The association between the frequency of child-parent communication on consent and regret of (French) kissing or other sexual activities is the same for boys and girls. Discussion. This study adds to the literature on adolescent sexual development by showing that gender differences in regret vary by type of sexual activity. While regret after kissing appears non-gendered, regret related to more intimate activities remains more common among girls, likely due to social and biological asymmetries. As frequency alone does not buffer regret, future research should explore the role of conversational tone and impact of peers. Promoting healthy sexual development among youth, particularly girls, demands a shift in societal attitudes toward their sexual behaviour.