African-American adolescent females' predictors of having sex.
African-American adolescent females are at high risk for HIV infection, acquired primarily as a result of heterosexual intercourse. Multiple regression analyses was used to describe the correlates of the outcome variable, ever having had sex, for low-income African-American adolescent females in a cross-sectional study of 322 (N = 322) mother/daughter pairs. The results revealed that while the daughters' age was positively associated with the outcome variable, the daughters' perceptions of strictness of curfew and maternal monitoring, and the daughters'self-efficacy to refuse sex and their intention to refuse sex were negatively associated with the outcome variable. Mothers tended to report significantly more maternal monitoring and stricter curfews than what their daughters perceived them to be. The daughters'intention to refuse sex mediated the effects of age and self-efficacy to refuse sex on the outcome variable. These results suggest that health-care providers should promote clearer communication between mothers and daughters in order to reduce divergent perceptions and to help mothers facilitate their daughters' self-efficacy and their intention to refuse sex.
Dancy
Barbara L
BL
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Nursing, 845 S. Damen Avenue, Office 1060, M/C 802, Chicago, IL 60612-7350, USA. bdancy@uic.edu
Crittenden
Kathleen S
KS
Freels
Sally
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000193:education / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D001242:Assertiveness; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D016487:Parenting; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population