Parenting strategies African American mothers employ to decrease sexual risk behaviors in their early adolescent daughters.

OBJECTIVE

The impact of parenting strategies on adolescent's behavior has been the focus of research in the past three decades; the findings have never been more critical, particularly among African American mothers. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 70% of all new HIV cases are among female African Americans (AA) aged 15-24 years. The purpose of this study is to explore the process by which AA mothers intervene with their early adolescent daughters to decrease risky sexual situations, with the long-term goal of HIV prevention.

DESIGN AND SAMPLE

A total of 64 AA mother-daughter dyads were recruited and separate focus groups were conducted for mothers and daughters with 6-8 per group.

METHOD

Focus group methodology with principles of participatory action research was employed to formulate focus group questions, recruit dyads, and to analyze the data.

RESULTS

Five codes emerged: scaring, limit setting, monitoring, nurturing/instilling values and identifying with one's ethnicity. The findings also showed an interaction between neighborhood risks, mother-daughter relationships and parenting strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

Parenting strategies could be targeted for public health prevention interventions with the long-term goal of HIV prevention.