Intervention Induced Changes on Parenting Practices, Youth Self-Pride and Sexual Norms to Reduce HIV-Related Behaviors Among Rural African American Youths

Abstract

AIDS is the leading killer of African Americans between the ages of 25 and 44, many of whom became infected when they were teenagers or young adults. The disparity in HIV infection rate among African Americans youth residing in rural Southern regions of the United States suggests that there is an urgent need to identify ways to promote early preventive intervention to reduce HIV-related risk behavior. The Strong African American Families (SAAF) program, a preventive intervention for rural African American parents and their 11-year-olds, was specially designed to deter early sexual onset and the initiation and escalation of alcohol and drug use among rural African American preadolescents. A clustered-randomized prevention trial was conducted, contrasting families who took part in SAAF with control families. The trial, which included 332 families, indicated that intervention-induced changes occurred in intervention-targeted parenting, which in turn facilitated changes in youths’ internal protective processes and positive sexual norms. Long-term follow up assessments when youth were 17 years old revealed that intervention-induced changes in parenting practices mediated the effect of intervention-group influences on changes in the onset and escalation of risky sexual behaviors over 65 months through its positive influence on adolescents’ self-pride and their sexual norms. The findings underscore the powerful effects of parenting practices among rural African American families that over time serve a protective role in reducing youth’s risk behavior, including HIV vulnerable behaviors.

The Impact of Parent Involvement in an Effective Adolescent Risk Reduction Intervention on Sexual Risk Communication and Adolescent Outcomes

“…There is a marginal effect on consistent condom use from both parent interventions (CImPACT and GFI). These findings are consistent with recent evidence emphasizing the importance of the inclusion of parents in adolescent risk-reduction prevention and intervention programs (Burrus et al, 2012; Guilamo-Ramos et al, 2007; Murry et al, 2011). …”

“…The Strong African American Families (SAAF) program consists of seven consecutive weekly meetings, each including separate and concurrent training sessions for parents and children, followed by a joint parent-child practice session; parents and youths receive 14 hours of prevention training (Murry et al, 2011). The Familias Unidas intervention includes eight parent-centered 2-hour group sessions and four 1-hour family visits (which involves both parents and youths) (Prado et al, 2012).…”

A Role for Epigenetics in Broadening the Scope of Pediatric Care in the Prevention of Adolescent Smoking

“…Our group is one of a number of consortiums to have developed successful family-based prevention interventions for smoking and smoking related behaviors that focus on empowering parents to work more effectively with each other and with their child. Because the initiation of smoking co-sorts with the likelihood of initiating other behaviors, the SAAF interventions can have broad effects on many domains of risk taking behavior (smoking, drinking, risky sex) [22–24]. A recent analysis of follow-up data from 502 families who participated in randomized examination of the SAAF-T intervention, a version of the program developed for teenagers, showed significant reductions in substance use, depressive symptoms and conduct disorder spectrum symptoms two years after enrolling in the program [25].…”

Assessing the Effects of a Complementary Parent Intervention and Prior Exposure to a Preadolescent Program of HIV Risk Reduction for Mid-Adolescents

“…15---17 Accordingly, prevention efforts targeting adolescents require emphasis on parental involvement. Moreover, intervening with adolescents and parents together has been shown to reduce risk behaviors, 18,19 leading intervention researchers to call for efforts to bring parents and adolescents together for at least 1 session. 20 Although there is consensus regarding the importance of the multiple phases of adolescence in terms of HIV prevention, 8 there is no consensus as to when adolescent interventions should be delivered: in preadolescence or early adolescence (ages 10 to 13 years, prior to the onset of most risk behavior, including consensual sexual activity), during midadolescence (ages 14 to 16 years, when some risk taking and experimenting has been initiated), or later in adolescence (ages 17 to 20 years, when many of the situations confronting youths are no longer theoretical).…”