An exploration of the ecological context of low-income, urban African-American adolescent sexual risk

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Shakiera T. Causey (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Stephanie Irby-Coard

Abstract: Health disparities research has indicated that urban, low-income African-American adolescents experience ecological and contextual factors like community violence, socioeconomic status, and limited sexual health knowledge which contribute to high rates of sexual risk among urban African American adolescents. However, protective factors like parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication about sex may decrease sexual risk among this urban teen population. A sample of 1,102 African American adolescents aged 13-17 from urban Midwestern high schools were included in this study. The current study hypothesized that: (1) parent-adolescent communication about sex would be positively associated with adolescent sexual health knowledge, (2) there would be a significant negative association between parental monitoring and adolescent sexual risk, (3) both parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication about sex would be negatively associated with adolescent sexual risk and (4) there would be gender differences in parental monitoring, (5) and parent-adolescent communication about sex. Results indicated no significant association between sexual health knowledge and parent-adolescent communication about sex or parental monitoring. Findings indicated a significant negative association between parental monitoring and adolescent sexual risk, with the association being stronger for boys than girls. There was a significant negative association between sexual health knowledge and adolescent sexual risk. Implications suggest that parental monitoring has greater influence on sexual risk in African American adolescents and thus, is more of a protective factor than parent-adolescent communication about sex.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2016
Keywords
African American adolescents, Parent-adolescent communication, Parental monitoring, Sexual risk
Subjects
African American teenagers $x Sexual behavior
Communication in reproductive health
Parent and teenager

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