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Abstract
Basic knowledge of human reproduction can help youth prepare for puberty and make later classes focused on advanced reproductive health topics manageable. With the intention of potentially informing the creation of learning materials, we conducted a needs assessment among children ages 7 to 12 in our suburban Chicago community to ascertain their current understanding of, and beliefs and misconceptions about, human reproduction, and to determine their needs for additional reproductive health education. We held qualitative focus group interviews with local children. Participants primarily reported learning about these topics from their parents prior to receiving school-based education in fifth grade. Their level of understanding was relatively low. They had little knowledge of internal sexual organs, expressed a range of beliefs about conception ranging from inaccurate to accurate but incomplete, and voiced concerns about transitioning into adolescence. This suggests a need for additional resources that provide comprehensible descriptions of reproductive health processes and mitigate puberty-related concerns.
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Author Biographies
Lisa B. Hurwitz is a doctoral candidate at Northwestern University. Her research investigates children’s conceptual development and experiences using electronic media.
Alexis R. Lauricella is associate director at the Center on Media and Human Development and a lecturer in the communication studies department at Northwestern University. Her research lies at the intersection of child development, education, and communication, and is done with the intention of informing policy and practice.
Brianna Hightower is a researcher at the Center for Children and Technology, Education Development Center, New York, NY. She received a bachelor’s degree from the Department of Communication Studies at Northwestern University in 2014.
Iris Sroka is founder and principal of Paradigm Research & Consulting. She is a child development expert specializing in the areas of educational media development, social values and attitudes, and child care and educational practices and attitudes.
Teresa K. Woodruff is the Thomas J. Watkins Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology (OB/GYN), the vice chair of research (OB/GYN), the chief of the Division of Reproductive Science in Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, and professor of molecular biosciences at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University. She is an expert in ovarian biology and coined the term oncofertility to describe the merging of oncology and fertility. She heads the Oncofertility Consortium, an interdisciplinary team of biomedical and social scientists.
Ellen Wartella is the Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Communication, professor of psychology and professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University. She also directs the university’s Center on Media and Human Development. She researches the effects of media on children and adolescents.
