Parental Influences of Sexual Risk Among Urban African American Adolescent Males

AbstractPurpose: This study examined the influence of parental marital status, parent-child sexual communication, parent-child closeness on the HIV-related knowledge, safer-sex intentions, and behaviors of late adolescent urban African American males.Design: The study employed a cross-sectional design with retrospective recall of salient parental influences and behaviors.Methods: Data were collected via paper-and-pencil questionnaire from 134 late adolescent African American males, 18 to 22 years of age, recruited from urban communities in and around Boston, Massachusetts. Data were analyzed using bivariate correlations, paired t tests, and regression modeling.Findings: Young men reported greater amounts of sexual communication with mothers than fathers (p Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of the parent-child relationship and the role of parent-child communication between parents and sons. Further studies are needed to better understand the nature of father-son communication and develop strategies to help parents communicate effectively with sons.Clinical Relevance: Evidence has shown that African American adolescent males are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors. Understanding the sexual risk communication between African American adolescent males and their parents is important to developing strategies in reducing sexual risk behavior.Key wordsParent child sexual communication, African American male adolescents, sexual risk behaviorsUrban African American (AA) male youth are more likely to initiate sexual activity at younger ages, have multiple partners, acquire a sexually transmitted infection, and father a child compared with White and Hispanic adolescent males (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention [CDC], 2010; The National Campaign, 2008). These sexual risk behaviors also put them at risk for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Parent-adolescent relationships and communication about sexuality and sexual risk have been associated with decreases in adolescent sexual activity and risk behaviors (Hutchinson, Jemmott, Jemmott, Braverman, & Fong, 2003; Hutchinson & Wood, 2007). Although there is a growing body of literature related to AA motherdaughter sexual communication, less is known about fathers' roles in sexual communication and fathers' roles in sexual socialization of children more broadly (Dilorio et al., 2006; Hutchinson & Cederbaum, 2011; Hutchinson & Wood, 2007). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the associations between parent-child sexual communication (PCSC), parent-child closeness, and the sexual risk-related beliefs, intentions, and behaviors of urban AA late adolescent males.BackgroundInterest in reducing adolescent sexual risk behaviors is of global importance. A recent study in Africa found that parental monitoring was higher for unmarried adolescent girls compared to boys and that African parents were less likely to engage in sexual risk communication or provide information about contraception (Biddlecom, AwusaboAsare, & Bankole, 2009). In Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda, only one in three girls and one in five boys reported engaging in sexual risk communication with parents (Biddlecom et al. …