A new study from The University of Harvard says that parents are more concerned about having the "sex talk" then talking to their kids about love, and how to sustain a healthy relationship - and because of that, it claims 87 percent of young women they surveyed admit to being sexually harassed.
"A committed relationship is a lot of work still," said college student, Chris Walker. Walker admits some of his friends think that as well.
And even though many parents believe teens are more inclined to "hook-up" anew study out of Harvard claims 85% of the 3,000 teens and young adults surveyed were more interested in meaningful relationships, but peer pressure can get the best of them.
"We all have a need to fit in. We don't live on a planet by ourselves so we do have this constant struggle between what our own values and what we feel comfortable with, and what is the norm doing or what is everybody else doing," said Stacey Scheckner, a psychologist in Tampa.
The study says parents are more concerned about whether to have the "sex talk" then talking to their kids about love and how to sustain a healthy relationship. Because of that, it claims 87% of young woman admit to being sexually harassed - 61% say they've been called "hot" by a stranger.
"Almost every girl I've talk to you say that hot is the worst complement they could ever receive," said Walker. "It makes them feel like a sexual object and not necessarily a person."
"Misogyny and sexual harassment appear to be pervasive among young people and certain forms of gender-based degradation may be increasing, yet a significant majority of parent do not appear to be talking to young people about it," the study said.
So how can parents fix this? The study suggests parents need to get involved:
- Talk to kids about love and how to understand what a healthy relationship is
- Identify harassment and how to treat people with respect
- How to identify a toxic relationship and deal with break-ups
It also says parents and teachers need to step in when they witness degrading words or behavior.
