Background: Cognitive changes and emotional responses, as well as the onset of puberty and early involvement in sexual activity, all take place within an urban context posing numerous threats to youth health and safety (Atkins et al, 1998). Given high prevalence rates of HIV infection, youth who begin sexual activity during early adolescence may be at significantly higher risk for HIV exposure as early sexual involvement has been linked with more frequent sexual encounters, as well as more frequent partners and less contraception use (Paikoff, 1995; Hutchinson & Cooney, 1998;).

Objectives: This paper will focus on two studies discussing factors impacting youth social solving skills that place them at a risk for engaging in the high risk sexual possibility situations.

Methods: In the first study data from a sample of 150 African-American children, ages 9 to 11 years, examines the association between type of youth social problem solving approaches applied to hypothetical risk situations and time spent in unsupervised peer situations of sexual possibility. Analysis of a second study was conducted to augment the findings of the first study by exploring the impact of family communication on social problem solving strategies among African American Youth. Data from a non-overlapping sample of 164 urban, African-American adult caregivers and their 9 to 11 year old children was examined in order to explore the associations between child gender, family-level factors including family communication frequency and intensity, time spent in situations of sexual possibility, and youth social problem solving approaches.

Results: In the first study, findings revealed that children with more exposure to sexual possibility situations generated a wider range of social problem solving strategies (t=3.3, p<0.05), but these approaches tended to be unrealistic and ambiguous (t=10.9, p< 0.001). Further, there was a positive association between the amount of time spent unsupervised and youth difficulty formulating a definitive response to hypothetical peer pressure situations(t=6.3, p<0.05). Children with less exposure to sexual possibility situations tended to be more aggressive when approaching situations of peer pressure (t=4.1, p<0.05). In the second study, results revealed that children were frequently using constructive problem solving and help seeking behaviors when confronted by difficult social situations and that there was a significant relationship between the frequency and intensity of parent child communication and youth help seeking social problem solving approaches(B=-.46, â=-.33, p<.05).

Conclusions: HIV prevention programs can benefit by focusing on education around the areas of successful problem solving skills, effective family communication and supervision, directly impacting a child's potential engagement in high risk sexual activities.

References:

Atkins, M., McKay, M., Arvanitis, P., Madison, S., Costigan, C. (1998). Ecological model for school based mental health services for urban low income aggressive children. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 5, 64 75

Paikoff, R.L. (1995). Early heterosexual debut: Situations of sexual possibility during the transition to adolescence. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 65, 389-401.

Hutchinson, M.K., & Cooney, T.M. (1998). Patterns of parent-teen sexual risk communication: Implications for intervention. Family Relations, 47 (2), 185-194.