Original ArticlesParent-adolescent communication and sexual risk behaviors among African American adolescent females☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Methods
From December 1996 through April 1999, project recruiters screened 1130 female teens in adolescent medicine clinics, health department clinics, and school health classes to assess eligibility for participating in an HIV/STD prevention trial. Recruitment sites were in neighborhoods characterized by high rates of unemployment, substance abuse, violence, and STDs. Adolescents were eligible to participate in the trial if they were African American females between the ages of 14 and 18 at the time
Results
Adolescents (n = 522) were 14 to 18 years of age, with a mean age of 16.0 years (SD = 1.2). The majority (90.6%) were enrolled in school. Nearly 26% of the adolescents reported a history of infection with at least one STD, and 12.5% reported being given a diagnosis of an STD in the past 6 months. Further, 40.2% of the adolescents reported having a history of pregnancy, with 11.5% being pregnant currently.
The scale assessing frequency of parental communication had good internal consistency (α =
Discussion
The findings suggest that adolescents reporting less frequent communication with parents about sex-related topics are less likely to use condoms and other contraceptives. These findings support previous observations.3, 4, 5, 7, 15 The significant association of parent-adolescent communication with condom use is particularly important because the sample was composed entirely of adolescent females, a population that must engage in potentially difficult negotiations with male sex partners in order
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2023, Children and Youth Services ReviewThe association of parental monitoring and parental communication with sexual and substance use risk behaviors among Native American Youth
2021, Children and Youth Services ReviewCitation Excerpt :Thus, additional research exploring these associations among Native youth, for whom these health disparities are marked but research is limited, is an important gap in the literature. Despite the urgent need to address the intertwining issues of substance use and poor sexual health among Native youth, current evidence demonstrating the value of parental monitoring and communication for reducing these risk behaviors among Native youth is limited (G. M. Barnes et al., 2006; Coakley et al., 2017; Dick et al., 2007; DiClemente et al., 2001; Huebner & Howell, 2003; Jaccard & Dittus, 1993; Macaulay et al., 2005; Ogle, Glasier, & Riley, 2008; Tobler & Komro, 2010; Whitaker et al., 1999; Yang et al., 2007). This study directly addresses this gap in the literature by examining associations between parental monitoring and parental communication with youth’s substance use and sexual health behaviors among a community- based sample of Native youth and parents/trusted adults residing in the same rural reservation tribal community.
A Longitudinal Assessment of Adolescents’ Sexual Communication With Parents, Best Friends, and Dating Partners
2023, Developmental PsychologyThe Role of Shame, Stigma, and Family Communication Patterns in the Decision to Disclose STIs to Parents in Order to Seek Support
2023, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
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Supported by a grant from the Center for Mental Health Research on AIDS, National Institute of Mental Health (1R01 MH54412) to Dr DiClemente. Dr Crosby was supported through an Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine STD Prevention Fellowship. Dr Cobb was supported by a post-doctoral fellowship from Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University.
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Reprint requests: Ralph J. DiClemente, PhD, Rollins School of Public Health, 1518 Clifton Rd, NE, Room 520, Atlanta, GA 30322.