Family and Friend Influence on Urban-Dwelling American Indian Adolescent Girl’s Sexual Risk Behavior

Abstract

Previous research with American Indian (AI) adolescent sexual risk behavior primarily focused on reservation dwelling youth despite 70% of AIs living off Native lands. Using grounded theory methodology, I sampled twenty adolescent AI girls via talking circles and interviews to explore the perceptions of AI adolescent girls living in an urban, Midwest area about the influence of family and friends on their sexual behavior. Similar to research with other racial groups, participants cited their family and friends as a major influence. Five unique themes emerged related to family and friend influence. Urban dwelling AI girls rely on their female family members and peers for information related to sex and receive varying messages from their networks of family and friends, which often overlap. AI youth have unique family groups yet have some similarities to other ethnic groups with regards to family and friend relationships that may allow for enhanced intervention development.

Conversation, Condoms, and Contraception: How Does Communication With Sexual Partners Affect Safer Sexual Behaviors Among American Indian Youth?

“…Using an ecological model (McLeroy et al, 1988) to frame sexual health influences, there are significant opportunities to intervene and promote healthy sexual behavior. Previous research supports a myriad of influences on American Indian adolescents’ sexual risk behaviors across levels of the social–ecological model including parent–adolescent communication and relationships (Saftner, 2016), peer norms (Chambers et al, 2018; Saftner, Martyn, Momper, Loveland-Cherry, & Low, 2015), perceived impact of risky sexual behavior (Chambers et al, 2018), intention to have sex (Tingey et al, 2018), and condom use self-efficacy (Tingey et al, 2018).…”

“…Given the conflicting research on types of partner communication that influence condom consistency and sexual risk (Johnson et al, 2015; Ryan et al, 2007; Widman et al, 2014), future research should focus on the types of communication American Indian youth are having with their partners to determine whether specific discussion about contraception or general sexual conversations are predictive of sexual behavior. Furthermore, researchers should consider investigating the differences between rural and urban dwelling American Indian youth as tribal connectivity may influence decisions about sex (Saftner, 2016).…”

Perbadingan Faktor Resiko Perilaku Seksual Beresiko Remaja Pedesaan dan Perkotaan di Indonesia

“…Remaja perempuan terkadang lebih mengandalkan seorang ibu untuk melakukan komunikasi-komunikasi terkait perilaku seks, dengan komunikasi yang intens antara anak dan ibu ini akan menjadi faktor remaja menjauhi perilaku seksual beresiko (Saftner, 2016). Hasil penelitian lain yang dilakukan di Saharan Africa mengungkapkan bahwa kurangnya bimbingan dan konseling dari orang tua, dalam hal ini disfungsi keluarga yang parah dengan pengabaian seorang remaja dari orang tua merupakan faktor resiko remaja melakukan perilaku seksual hingga menyebabkan kehamilan.…”

Shifting Social Norms and Adolescent Girls’ Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services and Information in a South African Township

“…“Culture” has been cited as a reason for limited adolescent SRH behavior change ( Wight et al, 2012 ). Researchers have explored how social norms and the social environment influence youth SRH decision-making in the United States ( Coley et al, 2013 ; Saftner, 2016 ) and numerous other settings in Africa ( Challa et al, 2018 ; Pot, 2019 ; Svanemyr, 2020 ) and Asia ( Shrestha & Wærdahl, 2020 ; Zuo et al, 2012 ).…”