Caregiver-Youth Communication Patterns and Sexual and Reproductive Health Among American Indian Youth

Abstract

Improving communication between American Indian caregivers and their youth has been suggested as an Indigenous-forward strategy to help alleviate the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) disparities faced by American Indian youth as a result of the legacy of colonial violence against American Indian communities. Studies with non-American Indian and American Indian populations suggest that effective communication about SRH between parents and youth plays a role in reducing sexual risk behaviors among youth. There is limited research that examines youth sexual risk behaviors in relation to communication patterns separately assessed in caregivers and youth. The current study aimed to examine the association between caregiver-youth communication patterns and engagement in sex, age at sexual debut, and condom use among American Indian youth in the United States. The study draws on baseline caregiver and youth data collected from Nen ŨnkUmbi/EdaHiYedo, a stepped wedge design trial with American Indian youth living on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana. 113 caregiver responses were matched to 145 youth for the current study. Caregiver-youth communication patterns were examined in relation to youth engagement in sex, age at sexual debut, and number of protected acts of vaginal and/or anal sex. Multivariable models were used to adjust for confounders and to examine relationships between caregiver-youth communication and youth sexual risk outcomes. An increase in overall level of self-reported youth communication with caregivers about sexual and reproductive health topics was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of youth ever having engaged in sex. A significant interaction effect between youth communication and convergence with caregiver response was observed for the number of protected acts of vaginal and/or anal sex, where caregiver communication (regardless of self-reported youth communication with caregivers) was associated with a greater number of protected sex acts. This study fills a gap in the extant literature by reporting on relationships between communication about SRH, assessed separately in caregivers and youth, and youth sexual risk behaviors. Findings emphasize the importance of involving American Indian caregivers in SRH interventions to improve SRH outcomes among American Indian youth, and inform future experimental research that will evaluate how changes in caregiver communication potentially impact youth SRH.