Marseille 2007
| Abstract #46 - Individual, Parental and Peer Influences Associated with Risky Sexual Behaviors Among African-American Adolescents | ||||
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Session: 23.7: Sex and Risk (Parallel) on Monday @ 16.30-18.30 in CP Chaired by Ulrike Sonnenberg Schwan, Marc-Eric Gruenais Authors: Presenting Author: Dr Chisina Kapungu - Institute for Health Research & Policy, United States |
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| Additional Authors: Dr Grayson Holmbeck, Dr Roberta Paikoff, | ||||
| Aim: A sample of 141 African American families, living in impoverished neighborhoods with high HIV rates, participated in a longitudinal study of adolescent sexual development. The present study utilizes a longitudinal design to identify the most important individual (e.g., childs gender, pubertal development, HIV knowledge), family (e.g., positive parenting, parental behavioral control, communication about sex, parental monitoring) and peer (e.g., susceptibility to peer pressure, exposure to peer pressure) factors related to condom use among African American adolescents. | ||||
| Method / Issue: The Chicago HIV Prevention and Adolescent Mental Health Project is a longitudinal study examining the role of family and mental health factors in HIV risk exposure from childhood to late adolescence. Participants in the study were African-American preadolescents and their caregivers. The families were initially recruited during the 4th and 5th grades from elementary schools and were seen at three timepoints. The length of time between assessments varied, with an average of 2.5 years. | ||||
| Results / Comments: To determine the constellation of individual, family and peer factors most predictive of Time 3 condom use, Optimal Data Analysis techniques were used to construct a hierarchically optimal classification tree model illustrating the predictive profiles determining an outcome of either Consistent Condom Use or Inconsistent Condom Use. Parental monitoring, exposure to peer pressure, behavioral control, and positive parenting were the most important variables associated with condom use among adolescent females. Parental and peer variables did not predict condom use for males. The classification tree model revealed three unique profiles associated with consistent condom use. These profiles were: (1) gender (males) (2) lower levels of parental monitoring with high positive parenting; and (3) high parental monitoring, low levels of peer pressure and lower levels of behavioral control. Findings also revealed three predictive profiles for inconsistent condom use for adolescent females. These profiles included: (1) lower levels of parental monitoring combined with lower levels of positive parenting; (2) high levels of parental monitoring, low exposure to peer pressure and high behavioral control, and (3) high levels of parental monitoring and high exposure to peer pressure. Together these six profiles correctly classified 93 out of the 141 adolescents (66%) who reported whether or not they ever used condoms. This represents an overall effect strength of 32, indicating a moderate predictive accuracy. | ||||
| Discussion: The classification tree model suggests that patterns of condom use may differ for African American male and female adolescents. Parental monitoring has a central role in the prediction of condom use for adolescent females. However, interactions with deviant peers may put adolescents at risk for inconsistent condom use even in the context of high levels of monitoring. Behavioral control emerged as an important variable for those adolescent females with high levels of parental monitoring and low levels of peer pressure. This predictive pathway may be identifying a subgroup of youth who are protected from sexual risk behaviors because their parents provide high levels of monitoring and encourage joint-decision making. Lastly, lower levels of parental monitoring and strong attachments to parents may protect girls from engaging in inconsistent condom use. | ||||
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