AIDS is the sixth leading cause of death for individuals between 14 and 24, and is the leading cause of death among persons between 25 and 44. As AIDS can have a long latency period, it is likely that many young adults were infected as adolescents. Heterosexual transmission of HIV is the fastest growing mode of infection among women, and minority populations are affected disproportionately. It is important to identify and assess psychological determinants of HIV risk reduction behaviors, in order that health care interventions be tailored to maximize a client's preventive efforts. In this study, the concepts of mastery and self-efficacy are investigated in relationship to HIV risk reduction behaviors in a culturally-diverse group of adolescent females. Mastery is a global sense of control over one's life, while self-efficacy is the belief that one has the skills necessary to accomplish a particular behavior. While self-efficacy has been found to be positively related to HIV risk reduction, the relationships between mastery and self-efficacy and between mastery and HIV risk reduction have not been investigated.
The specific aims of this project are to: 1) examine the relationships between mastery, self-efficacy, and HIV risk reduction behaviors in a culturally-diverse group of adolescent females, and 2) determine if differences exist in mastery and self-efficacy across cultures. A correlational design with a purposive sample is utilized. African-American, Anglo, and Hispanic adolescent females from an urban primary care setting will serve as the sample for this study.
| Long-Middleton, Ellen R; Burke, Pamela J; Cahill Lawrence, Cheryl A et al. (2013) Understanding motivations for abstinence among adolescent young women: insights into effective sexual risk reduction strategies. J Pediatr Health Care 27:342-50 |
