Files
Abstract
Between 1990 and 1995, HIV incidence among young men and women increased 130% (CDC, 2000a). As HIV continues to infect a significant number of adolescents, the primary strategies for prevention are focused on behavioral interventions including those designed to reduce adolescent sexual risk behavior. Other prevention approaches gaining attention are interventions to promote communication about sexuality within the family. This study was designed to examine the utility of two demographic variables (race and child gender) and three psychosocial variables (maternal belief that her child is sexually active, the extent of general communication between the dyad, and maternal sex communication confidence) for predicting birth control communication and HIV/AIDS communication.|Participants (n = 907) were African American and Latina women and one of their children recruited from three geographically diverse areas of the United States. The dyads were assessed at the same time in separate locations. It was hypothesized that the variables would be associated with birth control communication and not HIV/AIDS communication.|Statistical analyses supported the key hypothesis of the study. Exploratory analyses elaborated and confirmed these findings. A significant two-way interaction between child gender and maternal belief that her child is sexually active was found to be significantly associated with birth control communication. Strengths and limitations of the study discussed as well as the public health implications of the results. INDEX WORDS: Sex communication, HIV, Birth control, Family communication,