Religious upbringing, sexual education, and sexual decision-making among African American young women at a historically black college

This qualitative study explored how sexual education and religious upbringing impact current sexual decision-making among college students. Participants included (N=19) African American females attending a historically Black college in the Southeastern United States. Because African American young women aged 18 to 24 have increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV, and unintended pregnancy, it is important to understand the contextual factors that contribute to Black college women's sexual decision-making. The social ecological model was used as a theoretical framework to explore the determinants of sexual decision-making, particularly focusing on family and religion. Unlike past research on religion and sexual health, this study sought to explore religious upbringing as an emergent construct in sexual decision-making, defined as familial values, religious or spiritual rituals from childhood to the present, and religious or spiritual importance from childhood to the present. Based on semi structured in-depth interviews with participants about current sexual health attitudes and behaviors, analysis revealed that sexual education messages learned from family and peers during youth impact current sexual decisions more than sexual education messages learned in school. Findings also demonstrate that both religious upbringing and present religion or spirituality impact current sexual decision-making. However, results also indicate that a disconnect exists between religious upbringing and current religion or spirituality. Overall, findings may potentially inform future multi-level sexual risk prevention interventions on college campuses to incorporate various sources of influence on sexual decisions.