Adolescents’ sexuality education research in Iran, perspective and gaps: a literature review

Sexuality education is a challenging issue to address in Iran. This research has reviewed the previous studies to answer two fundamental questions: 1) What kind of studies have been conducted on adolescents’ sexuality education in Iran? 2) What are the existing research gaps in the undertaken studies? The present research was carried out based on the PRISMA systematic review protocol and considered all the indexed research in reliable Iranian databases including Magiran, Sivilica, Noormags, Elmnet, and SID which addressed the sexuality education of Iranian adolescents from 1385 to 1401. Out of 161 initial articles, 17 articles were included in the study. The results showed four categories in conducted studies: 1) documentary research mainly based on religious texts which have emphasized chastity and abstinence before marriage, 2) research based on experts’ opinions that have recommended the implementation of adolescents’ sexuality education, and mentioned some existing barriers in this regard, 3) research based on parents’ points of view, which has studied parental problems regarding sexual education of their children, and 4) a few studies based on adolescents’ answers to some questionnaires. The research gap in previous studies is the neglect of adolescents and their educational needs. There is no qualitative research based on recognizing the current generation’s phenomenological world. It seems necessary to design relevant studies to hear adolescents’ voices in order to prepare the appropriate sexuality education program for them.