Barriers to Puberty Talk between Mothers and Daughters: A Qualitative Study

In the present study, the conventional content analysis method was used. The present study was conducted from September 2018 to August 2019 in Iran. The study population consisted of mothers and adolescent girls. The data was collected using purposeful sampling method. The sample consisted of 4 mothers and 6 girls that were interviewed using semistructured interviews. Data collection continued until data saturation was achieved. Data analysis was conducted as described by Graneheimet al. using NVivo 11 software.

Results

In the present study, after exploring the views of the participants about barriers to puberty talk between mothers and daughters, one dominant theme emerged. Puberty talk is seen as an “inappropriate talk with a girl.” There were several subthemes, including “lack of mother’s awareness regarding the school role, the busy schedule of the mother, and the adoption of alternatives to mother’s talk with girls”.

Conclusions

Different sociocultural factors affect puberty talk between mothers and adolescent girls. It is important thatmothers and policymakers take these barriers intoaccount.

Keywords:
content analysis; puberty; girls; mothers; qualitative study

Characteristics	Value
Mothers
Employment status
Employed	2(50)
Housewife	2(50)
Race
Iranian	4(100)
Number of children
> 2	2(50)
≥ 2	2(50)
Income status
> $45	1(25)
$45–100	2(50)
≥ $100	1(25)
Civil status
Married	4(100)
Level of education
Diploma	1(25)
B.A degrees	2(50)
M.A degrees	1(25)
Experience of raising an older daughter
Yes	2(50)
No	2(50)
Girls
puberty experiences, y
> 3	2(33.33)
≥ 3	4(66.67)
Nationality
Iranian	6(100)

Theme	Subtheme	Category
Inappropriate relationship with girls	Mother's unawareness of the role of the school	Mother's lack of awareness regarding the role of school health educators.
	Mother's unawareness of the role of the school	Delegating maternal duties to the school's health educators.
	Busy schedule of the mother	Employed mothers
	Busy schedule of the mother	Mother's responsibility to take care of other children
	Using alternatives to mother's talk with girls	Communication with peers
		Communication with an older sister
		Communication on the Internet
		Generational gap and disparity of views

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[1] Address for correspondence Masumeh Ghazaznfarpour, PhD, Nursing Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran (e-mail: masumeh.ghazanfarpour@yahoo.com).