Counseling Ethics: The Case of Sexuality Information

Objective: The study aimed to identify Colombian adults' positions in cases in which a counsellor can and should not do so in a situation where parents who are uncomfortable with all issues related to sexuality ask their daughter's school counsellor to help answer her questions about thes...

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Main Authors: Daniel Del Rio Forero, Claudia Pineda Marín, Diego Andrés Alfonso Murcia, María Teresa Muñoz Sastre, Etienne Mullet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2025-04-01
Series:Journal of Family and Reproductive Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jfrh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jfrh/article/view/2933
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author Daniel Del Rio Forero
Claudia Pineda Marín
Diego Andrés Alfonso Murcia
María Teresa Muñoz Sastre
Etienne Mullet
author_facet Daniel Del Rio Forero
Claudia Pineda Marín
Diego Andrés Alfonso Murcia
María Teresa Muñoz Sastre
Etienne Mullet
author_sort Daniel Del Rio Forero
collection DOAJ
description Objective: The study aimed to identify Colombian adults' positions in cases in which a counsellor can and should not do so in a situation where parents who are uncomfortable with all issues related to sexuality ask their daughter's school counsellor to help answer her questions about these topics. Materials and methods: A convenience sample of 180 adults, including 19 school counsellors, was presented with a set of 24 vignettes created by orthogonally crossing three factors: (a) the context of the request (e.g., parents ask the educator to limit sexual information to purely biological aspects), (b) whether the adolescent requests additional information, and (c) the type of information provided by the educator (e.g., comprehensive information, including abortion). Results: A cluster analysis of participants' appropriateness judgments regarding counsellor’s behavior revealed four qualitatively different positions: Depends on adolescent’s request (5%), Completeness of information (26%), Biological information is insufficient (31%), and at educator's discretion (16%). In addition, 18% (most religious) expressed no discernible position. Conclusion: The majority of participants (57%) thus expressed the view that the most appropriate behavior on the part of the counselor was to provide the most comprehensive information possible, and certainly not to focus solely on the biological aspects of sex education during counseling. This view was largely independent of contextual elements such as the limits to communication set by the parents or even the limits to communication set by the adolescent.
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spelling doaj-art-20acc484f4ff42d0843e93f132fe2bc82025-08-20T03:53:13ZengTehran University of Medical SciencesJournal of Family and Reproductive Health1735-89491735-93922025-04-0119110.18502/jfrh.v19i1.18436Counseling Ethics: The Case of Sexuality InformationDaniel Del Rio Forero0Claudia Pineda Marín1Diego Andrés Alfonso Murcia2María Teresa Muñoz Sastre3Etienne Mullet4Center for Studies and Research in Psychopathology and Health Psychology (CERPPS), Doctoral School of Behavior, Language, Education, Socialization, Cognition (CLESCO), Federal University of Toulouse, Toulouse, FranceFaculty of Psychology, Konrad Lorenz University, Bogotá, Colombia and Universidad Oberta de Catalunya, Catalunya, SpainFaculty of Psychology, Konrad Lorenz University, Bogotá, ColombiaCenter for Studies and Research in Psychopathology and Health Psychology (CERPPS), Doctoral School of Behavior, Language, Education, Socialization, Cognition (CLESCO), Federal University of Toulouse, Toulouse, FranceInstitute of Advanced Studies (EPHE), Paris, France Objective: The study aimed to identify Colombian adults' positions in cases in which a counsellor can and should not do so in a situation where parents who are uncomfortable with all issues related to sexuality ask their daughter's school counsellor to help answer her questions about these topics. Materials and methods: A convenience sample of 180 adults, including 19 school counsellors, was presented with a set of 24 vignettes created by orthogonally crossing three factors: (a) the context of the request (e.g., parents ask the educator to limit sexual information to purely biological aspects), (b) whether the adolescent requests additional information, and (c) the type of information provided by the educator (e.g., comprehensive information, including abortion). Results: A cluster analysis of participants' appropriateness judgments regarding counsellor’s behavior revealed four qualitatively different positions: Depends on adolescent’s request (5%), Completeness of information (26%), Biological information is insufficient (31%), and at educator's discretion (16%). In addition, 18% (most religious) expressed no discernible position. Conclusion: The majority of participants (57%) thus expressed the view that the most appropriate behavior on the part of the counselor was to provide the most comprehensive information possible, and certainly not to focus solely on the biological aspects of sex education during counseling. This view was largely independent of contextual elements such as the limits to communication set by the parents or even the limits to communication set by the adolescent. https://jfrh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jfrh/article/view/2933CounselingEthicsSexuality InformationColombia
spellingShingle Daniel Del Rio Forero
Claudia Pineda Marín
Diego Andrés Alfonso Murcia
María Teresa Muñoz Sastre
Etienne Mullet
Counseling Ethics: The Case of Sexuality Information
Journal of Family and Reproductive Health
Counseling
Ethics
Sexuality Information
Colombia
title Counseling Ethics: The Case of Sexuality Information
title_full Counseling Ethics: The Case of Sexuality Information
title_fullStr Counseling Ethics: The Case of Sexuality Information
title_full_unstemmed Counseling Ethics: The Case of Sexuality Information
title_short Counseling Ethics: The Case of Sexuality Information
title_sort counseling ethics the case of sexuality information
topic Counseling
Ethics
Sexuality Information
Colombia
url https://jfrh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jfrh/article/view/2933
work_keys_str_mv AT danieldelrioforero counselingethicsthecaseofsexualityinformation
AT claudiapinedamarin counselingethicsthecaseofsexualityinformation
AT diegoandresalfonsomurcia counselingethicsthecaseofsexualityinformation
AT mariateresamunozsastre counselingethicsthecaseofsexualityinformation
AT etiennemullet counselingethicsthecaseofsexualityinformation