Description

The Parent-Adolescent Communication Scale (PACS) is a brief self-report instrument designed to assess the frequency of sexual health communication between adolescents and their parents. It focuses on discussions concerning sex, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV/AIDS, and condom use.

Purpose

The PACS was developed to evaluate how frequently adolescents communicate with their parents about important sexual and reproductive health topics. It can be particularly useful in sexual health education and family-based interventions for assessing communication before and after an intervention.

Scoring and Analysis

The scale consists of 5 items referring to communication during the previous six months. Responses are rated on a 4-point Likert scale, from 1 = “Never” to 4 = “Often.”

Item scores are summed to produce a total score ranging from 5 to 20, with higher scores indicating more frequent sexual communication with parents.

The instrument has demonstrated evidence of reliability and concurrent, predictive, and discriminant validity in the original validation research.

Reference

Sales JM, Milhausen RR, Wingood GM, DiClemente RJ, Salazar LF, Crosby RA. Validation of a parent-adolescent communication scale for use in STD/HIV prevention interventions. Health Education & Behavior. 2008;35:332–345.

Tags: Parent-Adolescent Communication, PACS, Sexual Health, Family Communication, Adolescence, STD Prevention, HIV Prevention