Oral

African American adolescent females continued to be disproportionately represented in the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the US. The implication being that more knowledge is needed regarding this segment of the population in order to develop more effective prevention programs. In this session, participants will obtain a better understanding of the diverse factors influencing minority, adolescent females sexual practices. In the first presentation, the presenter discusses themes derived from qualitative data. Themes identified were Knowledge on HIV transmission; thoughts and behaviors about their sexual experiences and safe sex practices, and communication patterns with their sex partners. The focus of the second presentation will be the impact of the belief that stopping to use condoms takes away the fun on condom use behavior among adolescent females. In the third presentation, the presenter will discuss the presence of the sexual double standard in messages that adolescents receive from their mothers. The emphasis of the fourth presentation is the increased likelihood of acquiring an STI from anal intercourse among African American adolescent females. The last presentation will examine the impact of fearing abuse and levels of STD knowledge on HIV sexual risk behaviors among adolescent females.

Session Objectives: 1. Describe current sexual practices and level of condom use among African American adolescent females. 2. Discuss the perceptions of African American adolescent females regarding their sexual behaviors, partner communication, and the double standard. 3. Articulate the influence of fear of abuse and STD knowledge on the sexual practices of African American adolescent females.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing