title: Jamaican mothers' influences of adolescent girls' sexual beliefs and behaviors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to identify the ways in which urban Jamaican mothers influence their adolescent daughters' sexual beliefs and behaviors in order to incorporate them into the design of a family-based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk reduction intervention program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focus groups were conducted with 46 14- to 18-year-old adolescent girls and 30 mothers or female guardians of adolescent girls recruited from community-based organizations in and around Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica. Separate focus groups were held with mothers and daughters; each included 6 to 10 participants. Focus group sessions were scripted, led by teams that included trained Jamaican and American facilitators and note-takers, and audio-taped to ensure data accuracy. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four major maternal influences were identified: mother-daughter relationship quality, mother-daughter sexual communication, monitoring or supervision, and maternal sexual role modeling. Mothers' and daughters' reports were consistent; both groups identified positive and negative influences within each category.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some maternal influences were positive and health promoting; others were negative and promoted unsafe sexual activity and risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. These influences were incorporated into the design of a culture-specific family-based HIV risk reduction intervention tailored to the needs of urban Jamaican adolescent girls and their mothers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In order to be effective, family-based HIV risk reduction interventions should be theory based and tailored to the target audience. The four maternal influences identified in this formative study were incorporated into the subsequent intervention design.
authors.affiliation: New York University College of Nursing, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: M Katherine
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.forename: Eulalia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kahwa
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Waldron
authors.forename: Cerese
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hepburn Brown
authors.forename: Pansy I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Hermi H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Hewitt
authors.forename: Joyette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aiken
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cederbaum
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alter
authors.forename: Loretta
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sweet Jemmott
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007563:Jamaica; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health