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October 2004 Monthly Monitor
Advocates for Youth's Youth of Color Initiative
Feature: Parent-Child Communication
When young people feel unconnected to home, family, and school, they may become involved in activities that put their health at risk. However, when parents affirm the value of their children, young people more often develop positive, healthy attitudes about themselves. Although most adults want youth to know about abstinence, contraception, and how to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), parents often have difficulty communicating about sex. Nevertheless, positive communication between parents and children helps young people to establish individual values and make sexually healthy decisions.
Let's Talk Month emphasizes the importance of communication between adults and youth in helping young people develop responsible attitudes and behaviors about sexuality. Below are a few ideas on how you can participate in Let's Talk Month:
- Include an article about Let's Talk Month in your newsletter or bulletin.
- Sponsor a parent-child communication training program at your school.
- Provide parents with resources such as pamphlets and articles, etc.
- Encourage your school board members, administrators, teachers, nurses, and counselors to attend training programs in child/adolescent health and sexuality.
- Ask parents and other adults to wear an "I'm Askable" button.
- Suggest that parents leave an "invitation to talk" in their child's lunchbox, bedroom, on a mirror, or any other place the child will find it.
- Sponsor a contest (coloring, poster, essay) for your students that encourages parent-child communication.
- Promote local civic organizations to sponsor an event that will promote children's health and /or parent-child communication.
- Encourage local churches and other faith organizations to participate in promoting Let's Talk Month activities in your area.
- Start a "make a date" campaign. Ask parents to schedule a time for their family to sit down and talk together.
For some of the latest research on the influence parents have on teenagers' decision making about sex, please review the abstract highlighted below:
Bettinger JA, et al. Does parental involvement predict new sexually transmitted diseases in female adolescents? Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine July 2004;158:666-670.
Background: African American female adolescents living in low-income urban areas are at increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases.
Objective: To determine if high levels of perceived parental supervision and communication were associated with reduced gonorrhea (GC) and chlamydia (CT) incidence in low-income, African American, sexually experienced female adolescents, aged 14 to 19 years, attending urban health clinics.
Design: A prospective cohort study was used to determine the predictive value for high levels of parental supervision and communication on GC and CT infection in 158 adolescent females. Multiple logistic regression analysis explored the association between incident infection and perceived parental supervision and perceived parental communication while controlling for relevant demographic and behavioral factors (age, religious involvement, school enrollment, two-parent household, having a main sex partner, and having concurrent sex partners).
Results: When adjusted for age and baseline GC and CT infection, high levels of perceived parental supervision were associated with reduced GC and CT incidence (adjusted odds ratio, 0.06). High levels of perceived parental communication were not associated with reduced GC and CT incidence (adjusted odds ratio, 0.55).
Conclusions: The link between parental supervision and disease acquisition is particularly valuable because it provides evidence that parental supervision can result in lower sexually transmitted disease rates in urban high-prevalence populations. This is important for interventions designed to increase parental involvement as a strategy for promoting protective sexual behaviors in female adolescents because it indicates that increased parental involvement can also influence subsequent disease acquisition.
Let's Talk! October is National Family Sexuality Education Month
For tips and resources to promote conversations between parents and their children on sexual and reproductive health issues, please visit our Parents' Sex Ed Center at http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/parents/index.htm
Capacity Building & Professional Development
Regional Intensive Trainings from Supporting Networks of HIV Care
The Supporting Networks of HIV Care Project (SNHC) seeks applications from non-profit, community-based and faith-based organizations interested in participating in one of four, two-day Regional Intensive Trainings, scheduled to take place in 2004- 2005 throughout the United States. Over the course of two days, participants will learn tools to strengthen their capacity to implement HIV primary care and support services within communities of color. Application deadlines are October 8, 2004 through June 2, 2005. For more information and an application, please visit http://www.nmac.org/conferences/SNHC_RIT/SNHC_RIT04.htm (no longer available).
African American HIV University (AAHU) Fellowship
Aimed at strengthening black organizations and individuals' capacity to address the HIV and AIDS epidemic in their communities, the AAHU is a comprehensive training and internship program designed to decrease stigma and misperceptions and to increase HIV science literacy in black communities. Applications are being accepted now through February 11, 2005. To obtain an application contact Black AIDS Institute (BAI) by phone: 213-353-3610 or at http://www.blackaids.org/
Funding Opportunities
New Voices National Fellowship Program 2005 Grant Applications
The Academy for Educational Development (AED) announces its next competition to support fifteen (15) nonprofits and promising new leaders committed to social justice and peace. Through the New Voices National Fellowship Program, AED is able to assist nonprofit organizations and professionals entering fields related to human rights and social justice, including: HIV and AIDS, women's rights, reproductive rights, racial justice, international human rights, and migrant and refugee rights. Men of color are encouraged to apply. Application deadline is Monday, January 10, 2005. For more information and an application, please visit http://newvoices.aed.org/
Announcements
National Latino AIDS Awareness Day—October 15th, 2004
The 2nd annual National Latino AIDS Awareness Day is October 15, 2004. For ways to get involved in your community, visit http://www.latinoaids.org/nlaad/2004/home.asp
Ryan White National Youth Conference—February 19-21, 2005
Save the Date! The 12th annual Ryan White National Youth Conference on HIV and AIDS (RWNYC) is in Nashville, Tennessee, February 19-21, 2005. RWNYC is the only national conference dedicated to building the HIV prevention and leadership skills of young people living with HIV, peer educators and adults who work in support of young people. For more information, please visit http://www.napwa.org/rwnyc/index.html
Resources
For additional resources on parent-child communication please visit the following national organizations:
You can help Advocates for Youth with a contribution today. To donate, visit http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/about/donatetoday.htm
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