Parental Discussions about Sexual Risk with African American Sons: The Role of Religiosity.

The current study investigated the relationship between parental religiosity (i.e., parent church attendance), and frequency of parent-youth communication about sexual risk (i.e., discussion about sex, and discussion about condom use) with African American boys. Participants were 65 parents of African American boys between the ages of 11 and 17 years. Results indicated no relationship between age and parent-son discussion about sexual risk. However, parental religiosity was negatively associated with frequency of communication with sons about sex and condom use. Parents who attended church more frequently reported fewer discussions about sex and condom use than parents who attended church less frequently. These findings suggest that religiosity may be a barrier to parental discussions about sex and sexual risk with African American sons. Findings underscore the importance of collaborating with church communities in supporting parents in educating African American boys about sexual health

Applying the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model of HIV- Risk to Youth in Psychiatric Care

This study examined the utility of cognitive and behavioral constructs (AIDS in-formation, motivation, and behavioral skills) in explaining sexual risk taking among 172 12–20–year-old ethnically diverse urban youths in outpatient psy-chiatric care. Structural equation modeling revealed only moderate support for the model, explaining low to moderate levels of variance in global sexual risk taking. The amount of explained variance improved when age was included as a predictor in the model. Findings shed light on the contribution of AIDS informa-tion, motivation, and behavioral skills to risky sexual behavior among teens re-ceiving outpatient psychiatric care. Results suggest that cognitive and behavioral factors alone may not explain sexual risk taking among teens whose cognitive and emotional deficits (e.g., impaired judgment, poor reality testing, affect dysregulation) interfere with HIV preventive behavior. The most powerful ex-planatory model will likely include a combination of cognitive, behavioral, developmental, social (e.g., family), and personal (e.g., psychopathology) risk mechanisms

Patterns of violence exposure and sexual risk in low-income, urban African American girls.

This study examined the relationship between violence exposure and sexual risk-taking among low-income, urban African American (AA) adolescent girls, considering overlap among different types and characteristics of violence

Disseminating Evidence-Based Interventions for Adolescent HIV Treatment and Prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Over two-thirds of adolescents living with HIV worldwide reside in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite widespread availability and access to evidence-based HIV prevention and treatment, dissemination has been inadequate. This commentary distinguishes between implementation and dissemination, reflecting on the unique barriers to dissemination of evidence-based programs in SSA. We present a seven-strategy blueprint developed by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that emphasizes targeted communication about research findings. Two case studies from the Adolescent HIV Implementation Science Alliance are presented to illustrate the value of planning for dissemination. We propose recommendations to strengthen dissemination recognizing that these may not be possible or appropriate in all situations, including developing a plan early in the process, engaging a dissemination technical team for support, the application of methodological rigor and theory to inform dissemination, active involvement of youth voices and digital tools to maximize message reach, and a keen recognition of evolving contexts and shifting priorities in order to nimbly tailor messages as needed

Tracing the Roots of Early Sexual Debut Among Adolescents in Psychiatric Care

To identify the most important social and personal characteristics related to early sexual debut among troubled teenagers

Determinants of Multimethod Contraceptive Use in a Sample of Adolescent Women Diagnosed with Psychological Disorders

Objective. Despite recommendations for concurrent use of contraceptives and condoms to prevent unintended pregnancy and STIs, multimethod contraceptive use among women is poor. This study examined individual-, interpersonal-, and environmental-level factors that predict multimethod use among sexually active adolescent women diagnosed with psychological disorders. Methods. This multisite study analyzed data from 288 sexually active adolescent women who provided sociodemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral data related to birth control and condom use. Results. 34.7% of the participants reported multimethod use in the past three months. Controlling for empirically and theoretically relevant covariates, a multivariable logistic regression identified self-efficacy, multiple partners, pregnancy history, parental communication, parental norms about sex, and neighborhood cohesion as significant predictors of multimethod use. Conclusions. While continued targeted messages about multi-method contraceptive use are imperative at the individual level, an uptake in messages targeting interpersonal- and environmental-level factors such as adolescents' parents and the broader community is urgently needed

Gender differences in moral development

Sixty-nine Midwestern middle-class children and adolescents were tested on justice and care orientations when reasoning abstract and interpersonal moral dilemmas. Nona Lyons' (“Two Perspectives on Self, Relationships and Morality,” Harvard Educational Review, 1983, 53, 125–145) scoring method was used to score subjects' responses. A 2(sex)×2(age) analysis of variance run on the total justice and care scores, as well as each individual dilemma, supported Carol Gilligan's ( In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982) theory that two distinct ways of thinking about moral problems exist — justice and care — and are differentially related to gender. Girls emphasized the morality of care significantly more than justice. Contrary to Gilligan (1982) and Lyons (1983), however, boys in both age groups emphasized the morality of justice and care equally. Data from the interpersonal dilemmas using Lyons's (1983) coding scheme are consistent with J. Piaget ( The Moral Judgement of the Child, New York: Free Press, 1966) and Lawrence Kohlberg [“The Cognitive-Developmental Approach,” in D. A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of Socialization Theory and Research, Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969]: older subjects became more justice oriented and younger subjects emphasized the morality of care. Sex differences on Kohlberg's stage theory were not significant and the protagonist's gender in the Heinz dilemma had no effect on moral reasoning.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45582/1/11199_2004_Article_BF00288055.pd