Abstract
Research supports the central role of parents in the sexual health behaviors and outcomes of their adolescent children. Too often, parents and adolescents with the greatest sexual health disparities are difficult to reach and engage in preventative interventions. Online and mobile technologies (OMTs) represent an innovative opportunity to reach large numbers of youth and their parents. However, there is a dearth of information related to the feasibility and acceptability of OMT-delivered family interventions for reaching vulnerable youths—particularly, ethnic minority youths. The current manuscript addresses this gap in the empirical literature by examining the feasibility and acceptability of OMT-based parent-adolescent sexual health interventions for African American and Latino families. Focus groups were conducted with convenience samples of Latino and African Americans from six US cities. Fourteen focus groups (six parents and eight adolescents) with an average of 10–12 participants each provided data for the study. Researchers used inductive thematic analysis to evaluate data. The findings suggest that parents and adolescents were motivated to obtain sexual health information through OMTs due to their accessibility, widespread use, and ability to deliver large quantities of information. However, personalized and trustworthy information was viewed as less attainable through the Internet or similar digital means, presenting a potential barrier to delivering an adolescent sexual health intervention via OMTs. Sexual health interventions delivered through online and mobile mechanisms present a novel opportunity for reaching potentially at-risk ethnic minority adolescents and their parents. Feelings of discomfort surrounding OMT use with parents, generational differences, and parent-adolescent relationship quality must be considered when developing technology-based sexual health interventions for Latino and African American families.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brenner, J. (2013). Pew Internet: Mobile. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.
Bull, S. S., Levine, D. K., Black, S. R., Schmiege, S. J., & Santelli, J. (2012). Social media-delivered sexual health intervention: A cluster randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 43, 467–474.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011a). Characteristics associated with HIV infections among heterosexuals in urban areas with high AIDS prevalence—24 cities, United States, 2006–2007. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6031a1.htm.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011b). Teen pregnancy—United States, 1991–2009. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6013a5.htm.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2011. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 61(SS-4).
Gold, J., Lim, M. S., Hocking, J. S., Keogh, L. A., Spelman, T., & Hellard, M. E. (2011). Determining the impact of text messaging for sexual health promotion to young people. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 38, 247–252.
Guilamo-Ramos, V., Jaccard, J., Dittus, P., & Bouris, A. M. (2006). Parental expertise, trustworthiness, and accessibility: Parent-adolescent communication and adolescent risk behavior. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 1229–1246.
Guilamo-Ramos, V., Jaccard, J., Dittus, P., & Collins, S. (2008). Parent-adolescent communication about sexual intercourse: An analysis of maternal reluctance to communicate. Health Psychology, 27, 760–769.
Guilamo-Ramos, V., Bouris, A., Jaccard, J., Gonzalez, B., McCoy, W., & Aranda, D. (2011). A parent-based intervention to reduce sexual risk behavior in early adolescence: Building alliances between physicians, social workers, and parents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48, 159–163.
Guse, K., Levine, D., Martins, S., Lira, A., Gaarde, J., Westmorland, W., et al. (2012). Interventions using new digital media to improve adolescent sexual health: A systematic review. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51, 535–543.
Hutchinson, M. K. (2003). The role of mother–daughter sexual risk communication in reducing sexual risk behaviors among urban adolescent females: A prospective study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 33, 98–107.
Jaccard, J., Dodge, T., & Dittus, P. (2002). Parent-adolescent communication about sex and birth control: A conceptual framework. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 97, 9–42.
Kann, L., Telljohann, S. K., & Wooley, S. F. (2007). Health education: Results from the school health policies and programs study 2006. Journal of School Health, 77, 408–434.
Levine, D. (2011). Using technology, new media, and mobile for sexual and reproductive health. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 8, 18–26.
Lightfoot, M. (2012). HIV prevention for adolescents: Where do we go from here? American Psychologist, 67, 661–671.
Prado, G., Lightfoot, M., & Brown, C. H. (2013). Macro-level approaches to HIV prevention among ethnic minority youth: State of science: Opportunities, and challenges. American Psychologist, 68, 286–299.
Rainie, L. (2013). Cell phone ownership hits 91 % of adults. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project.
Selkie, E. M., Benson, M., & Moreno, M. (2011). Adolescent’s views regarding uses of social networking websites and text messaging for adolescent sexual health education. American Journal of Health Education, 42, 205–212.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2012). Information and communications. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1158.pdf.
Ventura, S. J., Curtin, S. C., Abma, J. C., & Henshaw, S. K. (2012). Estimated pregnancy rates and rates of pregnancy outcomes for the United States, 1990–2008. National vital statistics reports: From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics System, 60, 1.
Villarruel, A. M., Loveland-Cherry, C. J., Cabriales, E. G., Ronis, D. L., & Zhou, Y. (2008). A parent-adolescent intervention to increase sexual risk communication: Results of a randomized controlled trial. AIDS Education and Prevention, 20, 371–383.
Villarruel, A. M., Loveland-Cherry, C. J., & Ronis, D. L. (2010). Testing the efficacy of a computer-based parent-adolescent sexual communication intervention for Latino parents. Family Relations, 59, 533–543.
Vyas, A. N., Landry, M., Schnider, M., Rojas, A. M., & Wood, S. F. (2012). Public health interventions: Reaching Latino adolescents via short message service and social media. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 14.
Webb, T. L., Joseph, J., Yardley, L., & Michie, S. (2010). Using the internet to promote health behavior change: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of theoretical basis, use of behavior change techniques, and mode of delivery on efficacy. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 12, e4.
Wight, D., & Fullerton, D. (2013). A review of interventions with parents to promote the sexual health of their children. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52, 4–27.
Ybarra, M., & Bull, S. (2007). Current trends in internet-and cell phone-based HIV prevention and intervention programs. Current HIV/AIDS Reports, 4, 201–207.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guilamo-Ramos, V., Lee, J.J., Kantor, L.M. et al. Potential for Using Online and Mobile Education with Parents and Adolescents to Impact Sexual and Reproductive Health. Prev Sci 16, 53–60 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-014-0469-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-014-0469-z