Parent Education for Young Teen Females

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The study has the potential to improve understanding of the link between early alcohol and sexual initiation and to provide a proven, selective, female-focused intervention for addressing these risks. The goal is to set young women on a course that protects their health and reduces the burden that problem drinking and HIV disease is taking on African American and Latino communities.

Detailed Description
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The aims of this study are to to characterize and address the combined risks of early alcohol use and early sexual initiation within a population of urban African American and Latina adolescent females who are at high risk for HIV, AIDS, and other STI. Past research by the investigative team has documented that nearly 10% of females in our target population have initiated sex by fall of 7th grade and more than half have done so by spring of 10thgrade. Although alcohol use is more comparable with national figures, the combination of early alcohol and early sexual initiation is troubling, yet under-addressed by existing interventions. We will develop and test an intervention that builds upon a promising strategy for influencing adolescents: parent education. Three parenting mechanisms shown to influence adolescent risk behavior are targeted: parental monitoring, household rule setting, and communication. Informed by a community advisory board and a series of focus groups, a set of three audio-cds for parents of young adolescents will be developed. Through dramatic role-model stories, these CDs will help parents address alcohol prevention and the link between early alcohol use and sexual initiation and risk taking. Families and middle school daughters will then be enrolled into a randomized pilot test of the intervention's efficacy. Parent and student surveys will be conducted at baseline and 3-month post-intervention follow up to assess whether the intervention is beneficial in terms of promoting positive parenting practices, positive attitudes toward healthy behaviors, and reducing girls' risks.

Official Title
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Reducing Alcohol & Risks Among Young Females

Conditions
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Prevention

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: parent education


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: 8th grade girls and parents at participating schools Exclusion Criteria: Non-English speaking

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 12 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| No Intervention: health promotion materials<br> | |
| Active Comparator: print parent education<br> | Behavioral: parent education<br>* Especially for Daughters audio-cd parent education<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| positive parenting practices |  | 3 months | 
| alcohol use |  | 3 months | 
| risk behaviors |  | 3 months |