Practical Pathways and Strategies of Family Social Work in Juveniles Sex Education
—Based on Erikson’s Theory of Personality Development ()
1. Introduction
Recent frequent cases of sexual assault have made sex education a focal point of social attention. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate released the “Juvenile Prosecution White Paper (2023)”, which mentioned that sexual assault cases involving juveniles are on the rise. In 2022, the Supreme Procuratorate prosecuted 38,232 individuals for crimes such as rape and molestation of children, accounting for 57% of all prosecutions related to crimes against juveniles (The Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the People’s Republic of China, 2024). According to a survey by Girl Protection, in 2023, media reports publicly disclosed 202 cases of sexual assault against children (under 18 years old), with 517 victims, the youngest of whom was under one year old (Girl Protection, 2024). In China, both family and school education have not given sufficient attention to sex education. In 2017, Nie Yan and other scholars surveyed 15,415 adolescents in 11 provinces, finding that nearly 90% of them did not know methods of safe contraception, and only about 40% knew the routes of HIV transmission (Nie, Zheng, Luo et al., 2022: pp. 68-74). A study by Zhao Rui and other scholars showed that during school years, 36.16% of adolescents had not learned about AIDS, 70.26% had not received education on pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and 39.78% had not been educated on physical health knowledge (Zhao, Zhang, Fu et al., 2019: pp. 1330-1338). China’s primary and secondary schools still lack a systematic sex education curriculum. As a result, juveniles receive little sexual knowledge through formal channels, leading to various sexual confusions, sexual crimes, and issues related to sexual discrimination, which may develop into unhealthy personalities over time (Zhou, Ma, & Wang, 2024: pp. 337-346; Huang, 2021: pp. 77-78).
The family is the first domain in an individual’s growth and plays a crucial role in personality development. Thomas Rikner’s concept of “character-based sex education” emphasizes the primary responsibility of parents in the sex education of juveniles, with the family being an essential setting for implementing sex education (Wang, Li, Zhao et al., 2024: pp. 1431-1435; Rosenberg & Rosenberg, 2008: pp. 53-67). In 2022, the Family Education Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China was officially enacted, which encourages social workers to participate in family education guidance services (The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, 2021). Social work, with its spirit of dedication and strong practical advantages, can follow the “client self-determination” principle when intervening in family education, helping to uncover the educational potential of parents and enhancing their ability to independently solve family education issues (Xia & Zhou, 2017: pp. 98-102). Sex education is not limited to the transmission of physiological and health knowledge; it is also an important component of personality education. When discussing whether personality development is sound, Erikson’s theory of personality development is an important reference, as it reflects the entire process of personality establishment, development, and maturity, with strong scientific and logical foundations (Ping, 2016: pp. 74-75).
By improving the ability and awareness of parents, combined with the professional support of social workers, it can effectively promote juvenile sex education put into effect. This paper aims to explore the path of family social work intervention with the help of Erikson’s personality development theory and explore how to promote healthy behavior habits and psychological development of juveniles through sex education so as to support the growth and development of juveniles more comprehensively. The research ideas are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Research ideas.
2. Literature Review
Erickson believes that parents are the objects of early childhood identity, and for children, “parents are powerful and beautiful”. American psychologists Peck (R. Peck) and Havgus (R. Harighurst) have used test method, evaluation method, and conversation method to study teenagers and found that students’ attitudes, ideological and political moral characteristics, and family style are very related (He, 2007: pp. 48-52). The primary task of family education is to cultivate individual sound personalities, maintain and enhance mental health, and improve juveniles’ ability to adapt to and transform social life. The role of parents in the growth of juveniles is not only a source of emotional support, but also a role model of self-identification. If parents are absent or absent, teenagers may lead to feel confused about their self-identity, which will affect their self-identity development (Wang, 2013). In the process of the growth of juveniles, parents should impart correct educational concepts, not only focusing on academic performance. According to the unique psychological and physiological conditions of teenagers, sex education courses can be carried out so that teenagers can understand the changes in their bodies (Zhuang, 2016: pp. 282-283). At the same time, parents need to understand and guide them in their parent-child relationship and should help teenagers strengthen their self-awareness, improve their bad moral behavior, and lead their healthy growth (Xu, 2018).
Sex education is conducive to cultivating good sexual morality and plays an important role in cultivating the personality of juveniles. Although some social workers have begun to try to use case and group work to intervene in the sex education of teenagers in order to enhance their awareness of sexual assault prevention, a universal adolescent sex education system has not been formed (Zhang, 2021: pp. 56-58). In addition, the repeated incidents of juvenile sexual abuse, domestic violence, and school bullying have further exacerbated their identity crisis. These traumatic experiences not only affect adolescents’ sense of self-worth, but may also contribute to decreased feelings of trust in society. To this end, social workers should provide preventive services, such as sex education, in addition to regular supporting services, to help teenagers establish healthy self-identity and safe social skills (Zhang & Lin, 2018: pp. 68-77). Many existing studies only mention the importance of sex education, but lack specific implementation strategies and effect evaluation. In the process of carrying out family social work, the macro level pays more attention to the establishment of a family social support system, the assistance of poor families, and the improvement of family resistance (Fan & Wang, 2024: pp. 1-9; Fan, 2024: pp. 140-143). On a micro level, more attention should be given to improving the behavioral issues of juveniles, mental health education, and promoting family relationships (Bao, 2024; Wang, He, Wang et al., 2022: pp. 77-80). At the same time, in research related to juveniles, the application of Erikson’s theory of personality development primarily focuses on self-identity and the improvement of problematic behaviors. However, there is relatively little research on the crucial topic of sex education during the development of juveniles. Many studies merely mention the importance of sex education without delving into its specific content and impact (Zhu & Ye, 2013: pp. 8-16; Li, 2024: pp. 191-193).
3. Feasibility Analysis Based on the SWOT Analysis Method
In essence, family education is a process that promotes the self-growth of family members and guides and cultivates the correct three views of family members. At the same time, sex education is not only a universally understood knowledge related to physiological health, but also a kind of personality education. SWOT analysis, as a strategic framework, helps in making strategic decisions by deeply analyzing internal and external factors. In this study, the SWOT analysis method is mainly used to assess the factors related to the implementation of family sex education and explore the feasibility of social work intervention in the juvenile sexual education within family education.
3.1. Advantage Analysis
Social work and family education form a joint educational force to provide a guarantee for the healthy development of family members. The unique methods, ideas, and helping skills of social work and the effective application of Erikson’s personality development theory all provide the necessity and possibility for the intervention of juvenile sex education and are also conducive to the innovation of family moral education methods. Especially in the case that the current exam-oriented education mechanism still occupies the main body of China’s education mode, the use of social work professional methods in family moral education can promote the ideological maturity and healthy development of the next generation to a large extent. At the same time, paying attention to the field of sex education for juveniles can strengthen parents’ attention to sex education, enhance juveniles’ awareness and ability to learn sex education knowledge, cultivate juveniles to develop good sexual morality, and promote the creation of a good social sex education environment.
3.2. Disadvantage Analysis
The primary resistance faced by social work interventions in family moral education, particularly regarding sex education for minors, often comes from parents, making it difficult to establish a professional relationship. In family education, sex education frequently encounters misunderstandings and resistance. Many parents, due to a lack of understanding of sex education or the influence of traditional cultural views, rarely receive formal, systematic sex education. As a result, they not only lack relevant knowledge and teaching methods but also feel embarrassed to openly discuss the topic with their children. According to a survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences in six provinces and one municipality (Beijing, Shandong, Guangdong, etc.), a total of 28,000 questionnaires were distributed. The results showed that 46% of parents reported having “never discussed” sex education with their children. When asked about the reasons hindering them from providing sex education, only 23.33% of parents said they faced “no obstacles,” while the remaining 76.66% cited reasons such as “feeling embarrassed” or “not knowing what to teach.” (Linquan Women’s Federation, 2020). Furthermore, social workers may lack professional training in sex education, making it difficult to provide scientifically sound and comprehensive guidance. Additionally, limitations in resources, such as funding, personnel, and time, can affect the quality and coverage of social work services.
3.3. Opportunity Analysis
In recent years, the value implication and realization path of social work in family education guidance services have been widely concerned. According to the Family Education Promotion Law of the People’s Republic of China, social workers and volunteers should be encouraged to participate in family education guidance and service services (The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, 2021). After years of practice and research, foreign social work has formed a relatively perfect theory and practice of family social work, which can provide a lot of useful references for family social work in China and form the service mode of social work involved in family moral education with Chinese characteristics according to the local conditions. The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Juveniles, revised in 2020, clearly points out that the code of conduct for students should be improved and, for the first time, that “schools and kindergartens should provide sex education for juveniles suitable for their age” (The Law of the Peoples Republic of China on the Protection of Juveniles, 2020). This is the first time that sex education has appeared in the legal provisions, indicating that sex education has been paid more and more attention, which provides an opportunity for social work to get involved in sex education for juveniles.
3.4. Challenge Analysis
In the context of rapid digitalization and informatization, minors have access to various types of information through the internet. However, online sexual abuse has also become more prevalent. Among the 169 child sexual abuse cases exposed in 2023, 34 cases were committed via the internet (Girl Protection, 2024). Online social platforms have broken traditional time and space constraints, enabling more convenient social interactions between people and expanding the channels through which minors can access sex-related knowledge. On the one hand, the abundance of online information allows adolescents to access information across various fields at any time, providing diverse answers based on different ideologies and values helping them realize the diversity of thoughts, theories, and values. On the other hand, the mixed quality of online media, the diversity, and complexity of the information received, coupled with minors’ limited ability to critically assess information, makes family education more challenging and adds new difficulties for social workers intervening in minors’ sex education.
4. Exploration of the Path of Juveniles Sex Education in Family Moral Education
Our culture attaches great importance to the family. On January 1, 2022, the Law of the Promotion of the People’s Republic of China on Family Education came into effect, which was the first time to legislate on family education in China. In the context of “taking care of children according to the law”, parents and other relatives, as the guardians of juveniles, will assume more responsibilities in the family moral education. Sex education starts from childhood and should start at the appropriate age. As the first guardian, parents’ own ideas and family upbringing methods have a great impact on teenagers, and their responsibility for sex education is very important (Huang, 2021: pp. 77-78). In recent years, more and more juvenile sexual assault incidents have been exposed, which has made society, parents, and juveniles aware of the importance of sex education. This is, of course, a kind of progress, but in fact, sex education is far more than sexual assault prevention education, and its content is much richer.
In 2018, relevant UN organizations released the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education worldwide, which further clarified the concept of comprehensive sexuality education. Comprehensive sexuality education is a socialization process that provides education on sexual science, sexual ethics, and sexual civilization for learners (Zhang & Yang, 2013: pp. 77-79+91). During the development of juveniles, it is essential to explore and learn about understanding gender differences, what respect and responsibility mean, and how to recognize and differentiate one’s own desires. The discussion and learning of these issues are both necessary and far-reaching. Sexual education that is based on sexual morality and supported by scientific knowledge is the key to cultivating rational sexual awareness among juveniles. When it comes to sexuality education, it must involve sexual morality. Sexual education with sexual morality at its core, supplemented with scientific knowledge, is what today’s juveniles truly need. Current sexuality education courses mostly focus on adolescent sexuality education; however, sexuality education should not wait until puberty. It is most effective when started early in the life cycle, from the earliest stages of development.
Based on Erikson’s eight stages of personality development theory, practice, and the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education, the author divides sexuality education in family moral education for juveniles into five different stages, corresponding to the developmental needs of juveniles at various age levels, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Action strategy of social work intervention in juvenile sex education.
Because it is involved in family education, the social workers face the whole family members, mainly the core family. Therefore, the important role of parents in juvenile sex education is specially strengthened in learning. Childhood (3 - 6 years old) learn to know your body, Know your own gender, Parents should do a good job of sex education enlightenment and guidance; In the lower grades of primary school (7 - 9 years old), Learn to protect your privacy, And also to respect the privacy of others, Parents should learn to give appropriate answers to their children’s questions about both sexes; Primary school senior grade stage (10 - 12 years old), a preliminary understanding of the occurrence of secondary sexual characteristics in adolescence, Reasonable view, accept adolescent psychological and physiological changes parents do a good job in protecting their children; Junior high school (13 - 15 years old) intensive sex education concept, Learn to reasonably protect yourself and others, Parents and children to establish a close connection should also learn to leave the appropriate space for their children; High school stage (16 - 18 years old) began to explore the structure of the family, Learning the appropriate gender roles, Understand the system of marriage, the etiquette, attitudes, and ideas of interacting with the opposite sex, And learn to protect sexual safety and protection. As in Table 1:
Table 1. Table of juvenile sex education stages in family moral education.
Stage |
Content |
Childhood stage (3 - 6 years) |
Learn to know your own body, respect and protect your privacy, know your gender, etc. |
Primary grade (7 - 9 years) |
Sexual enlightenment education, sex and life, parents’ answers, etc. |
Elementary school senior stage (10 - 12 years old) |
Understand puberty, meet puberty, and the role of parents in puberty, etc. |
Junior high school stage (aged
13 - 15 years old) |
Accept the mental and physical changes in adolescence, learning safety and law, etc. |
High school stage (aged 16 - 18 years) |
Explore family composition, understanding of the marriage system, learning safety and protection, etc. |
4.1. Childhood Stage (3 - 6 Years Old)
In the childhood stage, the main principle is interactivity and fun. Parents can naturally introduce sex education in their daily life through parent-child toys, such as going to the toilet and taking a bath, to answer their children’s sexual doubts, help them understand their body, and develop gender cognition and self-protection skills. Parents should allow and accept children’s sexual curiosity, give children enough time to pay attention to, explore and communicate doubts about sex, and promote their understanding of their own bodies. Combining children’s early sexual education with development needs based on parent-child interaction, such as cooperation and discussion, allows children to gradually understand the knowledge of sexual organs and sources of life in games, cultivate children’s gender cognition, and learn defense skills to protect themselves. Children learn privacy protection through games and knowledge cards, learn about body parts, and clarify the boundaries of physical contact through parent-child toys. On the other hand, parents need to learn how to deal with sexual abuse cases, teach their children to improve their awareness and skills, and not harm others while protecting themselves. One of the most important things parents need to do at this stage is to make sure that their children know that they are supported and protected. It is very necessary for parents and children to learn about sex education together. Parents need to sort out sex-related knowledge for their children as soon as possible, so as not to give criminals a chance to succeed.
The role of social workers is crucial, and they need to take a careful and sensitive approach to building a trusting relationship with their parents. This is not only achieved by listening to parents’ concerns and understanding their perspectives, but this connection needs to be enhanced by providing professional insights and support. Social workers can organize some family-friendly activities, such as parent-child workshops, invite parents to participate in discussions, and share the importance and practical methods of sex education in these activities. Such interactions can help parents feel that they are partners in the process, not just passive recipients, using open questions to guide parents to express their thoughts and feelings while sharing some observations and experiences of social workers. In this way, parents may feel valued and thus be more willing to accept and participate in sex education discussions.
4.2. Lower Grade Stage of Primary School (7 - 9 Years Old)
In the lower grade stage of primary school, age is the main principle. At this stage, children will start learning in school, so some social scenarios should be simulated. Parents should teach their children to respect others and understand the social norms of sex and the importance of the reproductive organs. In sex education, we should answer questions with scientific, clear language and in a way that is suitable for children’s cognitive level, including picture books and toys. Parents should create “conflict” situations where children practice self-protection skills. In order to make children have better self-protection awareness and ability, parents should learn to create “conflict”, so that children have practical opportunities to obtain self-protection skills in conflict. According to the 2023 survey data of the Girls Protection Team, among the 169 cases, acquaintances committed 141 crimes, accounting for 83.43 percent (Girl Protection, 2024). In order to avoid harm from acquaintances, parents at this stage should learn to use themselves as a model teaching tool, teach their children through words and deeds, and teach them to “respect and maintain physical boundaries”. They should also teach their children to refuse unreasonable and uncomfortable behavior. For example, when a child tries to break free from their parents’ forced embrace, parents should immediately let go and tell the child that when someone makes an uncomfortable move, they should learn to recognize it, shout “no”, bravely and confidently express rejection, and inform the parents in a timely manner. When children make requests that are not conducive to the development of good sexual character, parents should also learn to refuse and clarify the reasons to their children.
At this stage, social workers can popularize the scientific nature and importance of sex education to parents by holding lectures, seminars, and family education classes so as to help parents understand that sex education not only involves physiological knowledge, but also includes the cultivation of emotional relationships, moral concepts, and mental health. Social workers should emphasize the role of parents as the primary responsible person for children’s sex education, encourage them to continue to provide support and guidance at all stages of children’s growth, and help parents realize that sex education is the basis for cultivating children’s healthy and responsible behavior. In addition, the content of sex education is not limited to physiological knowledge, but also covers the aspects of gender equality, healthy relationships, and emotional management. By helping parents understand the universality of sex education, social workers can reduce parents’ resistance, especially by emphasizing the important role of sex education in improving children’s interpersonal skills, empathy, and respect for others so that parents are more aware of the necessity of sex education.
4.3. Senior Grade of Primary School Stage (10 - 12 Years Old)
To the primary school senior, safety is the main principle. When children enter the senior grade stage of primary school, they will gradually sprout sexual conflict and sexual awareness, and heterosexual parents should know how to keep a proper distance from their children at this time. Parents can let their children further understand what is sex through case analysis? What is behind sex? In this stage, the child’s secondary sexual character has begun to appear, children face adolescent physiological development, then parents help children understand and meet adolescence, analyze the meaning of adolescence for individual growth, and at the same time help children accept their gender, understand the equality of men and women, also can reasonably view of sexual differences. With the rapid development of Internet technology, children are increasingly exposed to pornographic content. Parents need to prepare in advance and work with their children to develop reasonable online rules. If a child reads inappropriate pornographic material, parents should avoid simply scolding and calmly explain that sexual curiosity is a natural part of growth, but that excessive exposure to pornography can have a negative impact on their mental and physical health. Parents should use authoritative sex education platforms to guide their children to learn scientific sex knowledge, and cultivate their ability to identify and resist bad information on the internet so as to promote them to form healthy sexual concepts and ways
Social workers should provide sex-appropriate educational materials such as books and videos to assist parents and children in discussing sexual topics in a safe environment. Recommend resources suitable for different ages so that children can easily understand the learning knowledge, reduce parents’ concerns, and ensure that children master the necessary knowledge in a positive atmosphere. At the same time, social workers can organize parent-child workshops to enhance communication between parents and children, provide interactive learning experiences, and cultivate children’s self-protection awareness and skills. Through these measures, social workers not only support parents, but also guarantee the healthy growth of their children.
4.4. Junior High School (13 - 15 Years Old)
The junior high school stage should take educational sex as the main principle. At this stage, children not only face heavy study, but it is also an important stage of personality development. Children, in the face of various changes in adolescence, if they lack a correct understanding of their physical and mental development stage and can not get scientific and effective guidance, then the child will be trapped in confusion, anxiety and impulse, and can not form a good self-awareness. Research shows that the establishment of children’s self-image, the formation of healthy personality, the normal development of body and mind and the establishment of good interpersonal relationships are closely related to adolescent sex education (Ma, 2006: pp. 88-90). Parents should communicate more with their children, learn good communication skills, timely detect “abnormal performance” in adolescence, pay attention to the children’s physical and psychological changes, help children relieve anxiety, and solve the confusion of sexual knowledge. At the same time, we can use some legal columns to popularize the legal knowledge related to sex for children, and improve children’s awareness and ability of self-protection and self-protection. From this stage, parents should also pay attention to properly “exit” the children’s world, and give their children more space for self-exploration and self-growth.
Encourage an open dialogue between family members, establish a good communication atmosphere, and let the children learn about their habits in a supportive and understanding environment. Social workers can provide some specific communication skills and topics to help parents and children to have meaningful discussions. For example, it is recommended to use “I” language to express their feelings, so that children feel respect and understanding and are more willing to share their thoughts and doubts. In addition, social workers can also build a bridge between school and family, promote cooperation between family and school, help them better identify and deal with the psychological changes and emotional needs of adolescent children, pay attention to children’s growth together, and avoid the “disconnect” between parents and school in sex education.
4.5. Senior High School (16 - 18 Years Old)
The high school stage should be based on the principle of equality. As children grow up, sex education is facing new challenges and new tasks. Parents need to be aware of the universality and complexity of sex education, and at this stage, they should pay special attention to the roles and responsibilities at the family level. Parents should help their children understand the structure and function of the family, recognize how the family is formed, and emphasize the exemplary role of parents in children’s sex education. By cultivating children’s sense of responsibility and respectful attitude towards others, parents can effectively avoid children’s casual sexual treatment and behavior. Parents should have an open and in-depth dialogue with their children on how to deal with sexual relationships, how to understand respect and responsibility, and how to correctly understand sexual desire. Parents can teach their children to master the relevant laws to protect themselves through case analysis, correctly understand and deal with the sexual relationship and the morality and laws closely related to it, enhance the self-responsibility of sexual behavior, and prevent sexual indulgence and sexual crime.
At this stage, social workers can also use schools, community centers and other venues in the community to organize activities such as sex education lectures, interactive workshops and parent-child face-to-face interaction to encourage parents and children to participate together and promote the interaction and understanding between families. By sharing successful stories or positive sex education experiences, we can help parents see the importance of sex education to the healthy growth of juveniles. This will not only motivate parents to participate more actively in sex education, but also help juveniles better understand themselves and improve their awareness and responsibility of sex and sexual relationships.
5. Conclusion and Reflections
Sex education in China has been in a state of avoidance for a long time. This situation not only leads to the serious lack of sexual knowledge among juveniles, but also may even become the inducement of sex crimes. Because of shame and taboo, this vicious circle is increasingly intensified, further aggravating the negative impact of the lack of sex education. The lack of sex education not only easily leads to physical health problems, but also may have a profound impact on the personality development of juveniles. Based on family education, this paper discusses the realization path of juvenile sex education in the family, but in reality, there are still many challenges to achieve the expected goals. First of all, parents, as the subject of family education, often fail to receive the correct sex education due to the constraints of traditional ideas. Many people regard sex as a dirty and taboo existence, so it is difficult to carry out sex education in the family (Li & Zou, 2023: pp. 49-53; Zhang, Li & Li, 2021: pp. 105-109). Secondly, the current curriculum system of juvenile sex education in China is not perfect, and many courses are limited to “sexual assault prevention” education, covering less basic knowledge of daily health, failing to fully meet the needs of juveniles in this field. Finally, sex education should respect individual differences and tailor educational methods to the specific circumstances of different families and individuals. Therefore, to truly implement effective sex education within family education, it is necessary to break free from traditional conceptual constraints, improve the content of education, and flexibly adjust strategies in practice. Only in this way can we effectively help juveniles establish correct and healthy views on sex, and promote their overall physical and mental development.
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Figure 3. The path of family and social work intervention in juvenile sex education.
China’s family education has accumulated much experience over the years, and many valuable ideas and methods that can be applied to sex education. In the context of moral education within families, conducting sex education for juveniles is crucial, especially given the long-standing lack of sex education in China. Social workers’ goals should not only involve assisting parents in helping juveniles develop good sexual morals and personality but also in teaching parents proper sex education knowledge. Social work participation in family education guidance services should maintain a parent-centered approach, strengthen parents’ primary responsibility and proactive awareness, and focus on cultivating their ability to self-educate (Wu, 2023: pp. 13-20), see Figure 3. Social workers play a crucial role in the sex education of juveniles, not only as knowledge disseminators but also as emotional supporters and behavioral guides. Through supporting families, educating parents, and guiding children, they ultimately promote the development of healthy and correct sexual views and personalities in juveniles. In this process, social workers do more than just teach knowledge; they help parents and children co-create a family educational environment based on respect, understanding, and care. This collaborative effort helps form a healthier, more positive sex education ecosystem. By fostering open communication, trust, and empathy within the family, social workers contribute to shaping a more holistic and supportive approach to sex education, which can have lasting benefits for the juveniles’ emotional and psychological well-being.