Research

Youth ages 15-24 currently experience a disproportionate burden of STIs (including HIV) and are at high risk for unplanned pregnancy. Despite the high risk, youth in Florida do not receive comprehensive sex education as part of their academic curriculum. Rather, the material focuses on abstinence and uses fear-based strategies to spread its message. Youth often receive sex information from various sources including the internet, other media sources, parents, community members, and peers. Research shows that parents are one of the earliest and most crucial sexual socializing agents in adolescents’ sexuality. Therefore, this study investigated parents’ and teens’ experiences with monitoring, connectedness, and communication and determine the acceptability of an intervention to improve parental monitoring, connectedness, and sex conversations between adolescents and their parents in an effort to encourage healthy adolescent sexual development. 

We conducted a global systematic review in accordance with the 2015 Preferred Items for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis tool to assess HIV self-disclosure among youth ages 13-24. In our initial search, we identified 5881 articles. After examining articles in greater detail, 33 studies were included in the synthesis. The Disclosure Process Model was used to highlight antecedent goals to self-disclosure. Self-disclosure was associated with negative emotional outcomes and improved medication adherence, but there was a combination of results related to sexual behaviors. We discuss implications for practice and future directions for research are presented.