Objective: The impact of parenting strategies on adolescent's behavior has been the focus of research in the past three decades; the findings have never been more critical, particularly among African American mothers. According to the World Health Organization, approximately 70% of all new HIV cases are among female African Americans (AA) aged 15-24 years. The purpose of this study is to explore the process by which AA mothers intervene with their early adolescent daughters to decrease risky sexual situations, with the long-term goal of HIV prevention.
Design and sample: A total of 64 AA mother-daughter dyads were recruited and separate focus groups were conducted for mothers and daughters with 6-8 per group.
Method: Focus group methodology with principles of participatory action research was employed to formulate focus group questions, recruit dyads, and to analyze the data.
Results: Five codes emerged: scaring, limit setting, monitoring, nurturing/instilling values and identifying with one's ethnicity. The findings also showed an interaction between neighborhood risks, mother-daughter relationships and parenting strategies.
Conclusions: Parenting strategies could be targeted for public health prevention interventions with the long-term goal of HIV prevention.
Keywords: African American youth; HIV prevention; early adolescence; health disparities; parenting strategies.
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.