Beth A. Kotchick

Family communication about sex: what are parents saying and are their adolescents listening?

CONTEXT Communication between parents and adolescents about sex, particularly in minority families, has been understudied; more information is needed both on which sex-related topics are discussed and on how their content is transmitted. METHODS Parent-adolescent communication about 10 sex-related topics was examined in a sample of 907 Hispanic and black 14-16-year-olds. Chi-square analyses were performed to test for significant differences across the 10 topics in discussions reported by the adolescents (with either parent) and by the mothers. The openness of communication, parent-adolescent agreement about communication of topics and differences by gender and ethnicity were also examined. RESULTS Significantly higher proportions of mothers and adolescents reported discussions of HIV or AIDS (92% by mothers and 71% by adolescents, respectively) and STDs (85% and 70%, respectively) than of issues surrounding sexual behavior, contraceptive use and physical development (27-74% for these other eight topics as reported by mothers vs. 15-66% as reported by adolescents). The gender of the adolescent and of the parent holding the discussion, but not the familys ethnicity, significantly influenced findings, with adolescents of both sexes more likely to report discussions with mothers than with fathers, and with parents more likely to discuss any of the 10 topics with an adolescent of the same gender than of the opposite gender. The likelihood of a topic being discussed and of mother-adolescent agreement that a topic was discussed both increased with an increasing degree of openness in the communication process. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with research among white samples, mothers of black and Hispanic adolescents are the primary parental communicators about sexual topics. To facilitate communication, educational programs for parents should cover not only what is discussed, but how the information is conveyed.

Adolescent Sexual Behavior in Two Ethnic Minority Samples: The Role of Family Variables.

Family structural variables and process variables were investigated as predictors of indices of adolescent sexual behavior and risk due to sexual behavior in 907 Black and Hispanic families from Montgomery Alabama; New York City; and San Juan Puerto Rico. The family structural variables examined were family income parental education and maternal marital status while the following process variables were considered: maternal monitoring mother-adolescent general communication mother-adolescent sexual communication and maternal attitudes about adolescent sexual behavior. Family structure variables failed to predict adolescent sexual behavior. However each of the family process variables predicted multiple indices of adolescent sexual behavior and risk due to sexual behavior. Neither adolescent gender nor ethnicity qualified these findings. Differences were however observed among the 3 locations and by reporter of the family process variables.

Why Parents Matter!: The Conceptual Basis for a Community-Based HIV Prevention Program for the Parents of African American Youth

The Parents Matter! Program (PMP) is a community-based family intervention designed to promote positive parenting and effective parent-child communication about sexuality and sexual risk reduction. Its ultimate goal is to reduce sexual risk behavior among adolescents. PMP offers parents instruction and guidance in general parenting skills related to decreased sexual risk behavior among youth (e.g., relationship building, monitoring) and sexual communication skills necessary for parents to effectively convey their values and expectations about sexual behavior—as well as critical HIV, STD, and pregnancy prevention messages—to their children. We briefly review the literature concerning parental influences on adolescent sexual risk behavior and present the conceptual model and theoretical foundation upon which PMP is based.

The impact of maternal HIV infection on parenting in inner-city African American families.

Parenting behavior and its association with child psychosocial adjustment were examined in inner-city African American families. Participants included 86 HIV-infected women and their noninfected children and 148 HIV-seronegative women and their noninfected children. Interview data were collected concerning maternal physical health, parenting behaviors, and child psychosocial adjustment. The results indicated that mother-child relationship quality and monitoring were important parenting factors for adaptive child psychosocial functioning. HIV-infected mothers reported poorer mother-child relationship quality and less monitoring of their childrens activities than did noninfected mothers, suggesting that maternal HIV infection may disrupt effective parenting. Directions for future research and clinical implications are discussed.

Coping with illness: Interrelationships across family members and predictors of psychological adjustment.

This study examined coping in families in which there was a chronically ill parent. Husbands, wives, and one child (ages 7-18 years) from 75 families in which the husband had hemophilia participated. Coping styles and psychological adjustment were assessed, and patterns of coping among family members were examined. Avoidant coping was associated with poorer adjustment for all family members. In addition, the coping style of one family member was found to be related to the psychological adjustment of other family members. Avoidant coping by one spouse related to poorer psychological functioning in the other spouse, and avoidant coping by either parent related to greater child adjustment problems for girls and boys.

The Role of Parental and Extrafamilial Social Support in the Psychosocial Adjustment of Children with a Chronically Ill Father.

The relationships among illness stress, perceived support, and child psychosocial adjustment were examined for children living with a chronically ill father. Participants included fathers, mothers, and one child from 53 families in which the father had hemophilia and, in some cases, was HIV seropositive. Objective indicators of severity of illness and subjective measures of the physical and psychological impact of illness were used as sources of childrens stress. Results indicated that the impact of illness, but not the severity of illness itself, related to child psychosocial adjustment. Main effects were observed for parental support on child-and parent-reported internalizing problems and stress-buffering effects were obtained for parental support and extrafamilial support on parent-reported internalizing problems. Parental support also demonstrated a stress-buffering effect for child-reported depression. Assessment and intervention implications for behavioral clinicians and researchers are discussed.

Understanding the Educational Aspirations of African American Adolescents: Child, Family, and Community Factors

The current study examined the association between multiple systems of influence (adolescent, family, and community) and the educational aspirations of African American adolescents. Guided by ecological and integrative models of child development, in the current study the authors examined the association between the educational aspirations of 130 socioeconomically and educationally disadvantaged urban African American adolescents (mean age = 16.76 years) and factors within the adolescent (attitudes toward education and school self-esteem), family (perceived parental/guardian educational involvement and educational expectations), and community (number of community resources present and the average utilization of community resources). A hierarchical multiple regression indicated that both the adolescent and the family systems were related significantly to educational aspirations and explained a significant proportion of the variance. A test for moderation by gender indicated that African American males’ average utilization of community resources was related significantly and positively to their educational aspirations. The findings suggest that by targeting both micro and macro levels of influence, interventions can be designed to foster higher aspirations among at-risk African American youth.

The Parents Matter! Program: Building a Successful Investigator-Community Partnership

We examine the issues involved in creating and maintaining a successful collaboration between university-based researchers and community members when designing and implementing the Parents Matter! Program (PMP). The roles of focus groups, community advisory boards, and community liaisons are highlighted. PMP provides an illustration of the ongoing process of collaboration between investigators and community members and the benefits and challenges of such a partnership.