TY - JOUR
T1 - The Strong African American Families Program
T2 - Longitudinal Pathways to Sexual Risk Reduction
AU - Murry, Velma Mc Bride
AU - Berkel, Cady
AU - Brody, Gene H.
AU - Gibbons, Meg
AU - Gibbons, Frederick X.
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper constitutes an intact chapter of a doctoral dissertation, conducted by the second author, under the direction of the first author. Data for this project were collected as part of the Strong African American Families program. The work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
PY - 2007/10
Y1 - 2007/10
N2 - Purpose: To identify the mechanisms by which intervention-induced increases in adaptive parenting were associated with a reduction in sexual risk behavior among rural African American adolescents across a 29-month period. Methods: African American families (N = 284) with 11-year-old children in nine rural Georgian counties participated in the 7-week Strong African American Families (SAAF) project. Counties were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. The program was evaluated via pretest, posttest, and long-term follow-up interview data collected in the families' homes. The current paper tests a hypothetical model of program efficacy, positing that intervention-induced changes in parenting behaviors would enhance in youth self-pride, which in turn would forecast changes in sexual behaviors measured 29 months after pretest. Results: Compared with controls, parents who participated in SAAF reported increased adaptive universal and racially specific parenting. Furthermore, intervention-induced changes in these parenting behaviors were associated indirectly with sexual risk behavior through adolescent self-pride, peer orientation, and sexual intent. Conclusions: Culturally competent programs, developed through empirical and theoretical research within affected communities, can foster adaptive universal and racially specific parenting, which can have a long-term effect on adolescent sexual risk behavior. Effective strategies for designing and implementing culturally competent programs are discussed.
AB - Purpose: To identify the mechanisms by which intervention-induced increases in adaptive parenting were associated with a reduction in sexual risk behavior among rural African American adolescents across a 29-month period. Methods: African American families (N = 284) with 11-year-old children in nine rural Georgian counties participated in the 7-week Strong African American Families (SAAF) project. Counties were randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. The program was evaluated via pretest, posttest, and long-term follow-up interview data collected in the families' homes. The current paper tests a hypothetical model of program efficacy, positing that intervention-induced changes in parenting behaviors would enhance in youth self-pride, which in turn would forecast changes in sexual behaviors measured 29 months after pretest. Results: Compared with controls, parents who participated in SAAF reported increased adaptive universal and racially specific parenting. Furthermore, intervention-induced changes in these parenting behaviors were associated indirectly with sexual risk behavior through adolescent self-pride, peer orientation, and sexual intent. Conclusions: Culturally competent programs, developed through empirical and theoretical research within affected communities, can foster adaptive universal and racially specific parenting, which can have a long-term effect on adolescent sexual risk behavior. Effective strategies for designing and implementing culturally competent programs are discussed.
KW - Adolescents
KW - African Americans
KW - Cultural Competence
KW - Parenting
KW - Preventive Intervention
KW - Program Evaluation
KW - Racial Socialization
KW - Rural
KW - Sexual Risk Behavior
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.04.003
DO - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.04.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 17875458
AN - SCOPUS:34548574539
SN - 1054-139X
VL - 41
SP - 333
EP - 342
JO - Journal of Adolescent Health
JF - Journal of Adolescent Health
IS - 4
ER -