Parenting, parent–child relationships, and sexual possibility situations among urban African American preadolescents: Preliminary findings and implications for HIV prevention.

Abstract

This article examines associations among parenting, parent-child relationships, and children's exposure to sexual possibility situations. African American families (N = 310) with preadotescent children were interviewed regarding parenting, parent-child relations, and demographic history. Children were interviewed privately about their exposure to sexual possibility situations. Results revealed marginal effects of child gender as well as effects of parent education and parent employment on children's exposure to sexual possibility situations. An interaction effect indicated that parenting support may be a protective factor against exposure to sexual possibility situations, among children whose mothers were adolescents at the time of their 1st childbirth.Adolescent sexual risk taking (e.g., unprotected sexual intercourse) is of increasing concern as a result of the risk of HIV/AIDS. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC; 1994), growing numbers of adolescents (i.e., 13-19 years of age) are contracting AIDS from heterosexual contact. These rates are higher for older youth (i.e., 20-24 years of age), and, because of the incubation period of 8 to 10 years for HIV, the rates indicate that risky sexual contact probably occurred at an earlier age (CDC, 1994). Closer examination of HTV/AIDS rates indicates that females are at higher risk for AIDS through heterosexual contact than males and that African Americans are at greater risk than other racial groups. Female African Americans experience the greatest risk for HIV/AIDS

Sexual possibility situations and sexual behaviors among young adolescents: The moderating role of protective factors

“…Previous work shows that children whose parents provide less monitoring and supervision are at higher risk for the early initiation of sexual intercourse [19 -22]. Presumably, children who are not monitored have more opportunities to spend time with other children, and greater time spent with other children as assessed in this study has been linked to early initiation of sexual intercourse [9,10].…”

“…Paikoff demonstrated that such situations serve as opportunities among preadolescents to engage in sexual behaviors including sexual intercourse [9]. In a second study assessing factors associated with SPS, Paikoff et al [10] found that parenting support served as a protective factor in families where the mother had her first child as a teenager. They also found that parents' education and employment influenced the child's involvement in SPS.…”

Family-Based HIV Preventive Intervention

“…Parental control addresses who makes decisions in the family regarding key family issues. Paikoff et al (1997) did not find an association between parental control and situations of sexual possibility. However, Kapungu et al (in preparation), in a longitudinal study, found that boys of families with greater parental control were less likely to reach sexual debut in early adolescence.…”

“…Scores can range from 17 to 68, higher scores indicating low control. Paikoff et al (1997) found inter-item reliability was high (alpha = .76). The scale has been used previously with diverse adolescents (Holmbeck & O' Donnell, 1991).…”

Family context and HIV risk among youth in psychiatric care: what pediatricians can do

“…Parental monitoring is related to delayed sexual initiation, decreases in other risk behaviors such as delinquency and drug use [2], and fewer opportunities for sexual activity to occur [24], i.e. fewer situations where teens gather in unsupervised, mixed-sex social groups and youth may witness sexual activity or engage in sexual behavior themselves [25]. Similarly, low parent monitoring and supervision are consistently linked to adolescent sexual activity [26] and problem behaviors among youth [27,28], including delinquency [29].…”