265592 Black Heterosexual Men's Sexual Scripts & Implications for HIV Prevention: A Mixed Methods Development and Test of the Cultural Scenarios Sexual Scripts Scale (C-4S)

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 3:30 PM - 3:45 PM

Lisa Bowleg, PhD , School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Gary J. Burkholder, PhD , Senior Research Scholar, Center for Research Support, Walden University, Minneapolis, MN
Seth M. Noar, PhD , School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Michelle Teti, MPH, DrPH , Health Sciences, The University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
David Malebranche, MD, MPH , Division of General Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Jeanne Tschann, PhD , Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Jenne Massie, MS , School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
     
Background: Sexual scripts are gender and culture-specific guides for sexual behavior. Although ample sexual scripts theory exists, sexual scripts measures are rare. This mixed methods study developed and tested the Cultural Scenarios Sexual Scripts Scale (C-4S). Based on low-income urban Black heterosexual men's (BHM) experiences, C-4S measures sexual scripts at the cultural scenarios-level. Cultural scenarios are socially appropriate norms for sexual behavior (e.g., who, what, where) (Simon & Gagnon,1987). Disproportionately high rates of heterosexually transmitted HIV in Black communities and the dearth of prevention research with BHM underscore the need for more sexual scripts research to inform HIV interventions. Methods: We conducted 30 individual interviews, followed by ACASI interviews with 526 predominantly low-income BHM between the ages of 18 and 45 recruited from randomly selected venues (e.g., barbershops, street corners) in Philadelphia, PA. After coding the qualitative data, we developed lists of verbatim phrases to create the 52-item C-4S. Results: Qualitative analyses informed the item dimensions. Principal components analyses using promax rotation resulted in a 6-factor solution that explained 50% of the variance: Romance (α=.87), Sexual Activities (α=.77), Condom Use and Negotiation (α=.81), Sexual Influences (e.g., media, porn) (α=.82), Alcohol and Marijuana Use during Sex (α=.83), and Sexual Experimentation (α=.64). All dimensions are significantly correlated with HIV risk behaviors with casual and main partners. Conclusions: Preliminary evidence suggests that the C-4S is a valid and reliable sexual scripts measure for low-income urban BHM. More research with other populations is needed to confirm the reliability and validity of the C-4S.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. To describe a mixed methods approach to developing a culturally grounded measure of cultural scenario sexual scripts for Black men. 2. To analyze the predictive validity of C-4S for Black heterosexual men’s reported sexual HIV risk behaviors. 3. To frame the results of the C-4S within the social-structural context of Black men’s lives (e.g., unemployment, racial discrimination, poverty). 4. To discuss implications of the C-4S for the development of HIV interventions for Black heterosexual men and their sexual partners.

Keywords: HIV Risk Behavior, African American

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Principal Investigator of the NIH R01 grant that funded this study on HIV prevention and Black heterosexual men.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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