Background:
Sexual identity is an individual’s sense of masculinity or femininity that has a positive effect on his/her mental health and well-being.
Objectives:
The current study aimed at providing sex education based on mindfulness training and Islamic teachings in improving satisfaction with sexual identity among Iranian male adolescents aged 12 - 15 years.
Methods:
The current quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and a control group was conducted on a sample of 60 male adolescents selected using a multistage cluster sampling method, and every 20 subjects were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. The measurement tool was a researcher-made questionnaire on satisfaction with sexual identity to measure four emotional, perceptual, behavioral, and social subscales. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of the whole questionnaire and the subscales were 0.76 and 0.65, respectively. Its validity was confirmed by internal consistency.
Results:
Results of analysis of covariance showed that the scores of the groups were significantly different in satisfaction with sexual identity and its perceptual and social subscales. There was a significant difference between the experimental group trained by Islamic teachings and the control group in the emotional subscale. Concerning all of the subscales, the means of the experimental group trained by Islamic teachings were higher than those of the group received mindfulness training.
Conclusions:
According to the current study results, it can be concluded that sex education based on mindfulness training and Islamic teachings should necessarily be considered in school curriculums developed for adolescents to improve their mental health and prevent them from social harm.
Keywords:Sex Education,Islamic Teachings,Mindfulness,Sexual Identity,Adolescents