Exploring Parental Intentions to Use Digital Tools to Enhance Parent-Child Sexual Communication in Europe: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

TL;DR

This study explores why European parents might use digital tools to improve conversations with their children about sexuality.

Contribution

The study identifies perceived usefulness, especially relevance to parenting and technology quality, as key factors influencing parental intentions to use digital tools.

Findings

Perceived usefulness strongly correlates with parental intention to use digital tools (β=0.67).

Relevance to parenting and quality of technology are independently significant predictors of usage intention.

Demographic factors are significantly related to technology acceptance model constructs.

Abstract

Parent-child communication about sexuality education is critical for safe adolescent sexual development and well-being. Yet, there is evidence that these conversations are often ineffective. Digital tools have therefore emerged as promising interventions that may assist parents in addressing sensitive or difficult topics. However, our understanding of the factors that may motivate parental adoption of these technologies remains limited.

This study aimed to explore factors associated with European parents’ intentions to use a digital tool designed to support parent-child sexual communication and complement school-based sexuality education. The study was conducted across the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Italy.

Using the technology acceptance model, we applied structural equation modeling to identify motivators of parents’ intention to use the hypothetical app. This included perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Perceived usefulness was further analyzed by its subcomponents—relevance to parenting and quality of technology—through an alternative 3-construct model. Additionally, the associations between demographic characteristics (age, gender, country of residence, and education level) and the latent constructs were assessed.

The study sample included 1296 parents. The explanatory power of the model was R2=0.47. Perceived usefulness was significantly associated with intention to use (β=0.67, P<.001), while perceived ease of use showed no significant association with either intention to use (β=–0.01, P>.05) or perceived usefulness (β=0.10, P>.05). An alternative 3-construct analysis revealed that relevance to parenting and quality of technology were both independently significantly associated with intention to use (β=0.09, P<.001 and β=0.59, P<.001, respectively). Demographic characteristics were also significantly related to the technology acceptance model constructs in the model.

These findings highlight the critical role of perceived usefulness, specifically relevance to parenting needs and the perceived quality of technology, in shaping parental intentions to use digital parent-child sexual communication tools. Developers of educational digital technologies should therefore prioritize high-quality design features to inspire usage. Future research should evaluate real-world digital tools to assess actual usage, long-term engagement, and their effectiveness in enhancing parent-child sexual communication.

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