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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Ruth C. White, PhD, MPH, MSW, Department of Society, Justice and Culture, Seattle University, 900 Broadway, Seattle, WA 98122-4340, 206-296-5390, ruthcw@rocketmail.com
Based on a comprehensive literature review and the author’s dissertation research, the author proposes that the complex interaction between gender, class and ethnicity produces group- and gender-specific beliefs about sex that determine the utility of the HBM (and other theories) to explain the sexual behaviors of various adolescent populations. Therefore, these beliefs should be measured and be the foundation on which group-specific health education strategies are developed.Gender is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of adolescent sexual behavior, yet HIV- and pregnancy-prevention education continue to be offered in predominantly co-educational contexts. In addition, ethnicity -- used as a proxy for cultural beliefs -- has been found to mediate the validity of the HBM, with the model being most useful to European American adolescents and less so for ethnic minority youth. However, interventions for ethnic minority youth continue to be based on HBM principles. To date, no published studies could be found that analyzed the impact of class on the effectiveness of the HBM to explain adolescent sexual behavior. Yet, the impact of culture on health beliefs, especially those related to sexual behavior, is expressed at the nexus of gender, ethnicity and class. Practice implications for health educators and researchers include the development of: 1) guidelines for use of health behavior theories with specific populations; 2) gender-specific sex education strategies; 3) new theoretical frameworks that incorporate issues of gender and culture; and, 4) scales that measure culturally specific beliefs and practices that guide sexual behavior.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Cultural Competency, Sexual Behavior
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: none
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.