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Parent Facilitation of Condom Access and HIV Testing Associated with Improved Sexual Health Outcomes for Sexual Minority Young Men

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Abstract

Sexual minority young men experience a high HIV incidence. Parent-based interventions are promising for prevention efforts, but further research is needed to identify specific, replicable parental behaviors associated with improved sexual health outcomes for sexual minority young men. We assessed parental behaviors in the domains of facilitating access to condoms, providing instruction in condom use, and supporting HIV testing, and tested whether parental behaviors were associated with sons’ condom use self-efficacy and intentions to get tested for HIV. Data came from the baseline assessment of a pilot trial of a parent-based HIV prevention program, and participants were dyads (n = 61) of sexual minority young men (M. age: 16.87; 46% racial/ethnic minority) and their parents (M. age: 44.31; 26% racial/ethnic minority). Parents and sons reported on parental behaviors in each domain. Results indicated that parents’ facilitation of access to condoms was associated with sons’ condom use self-efficacy, and parents’ facilitation of HIV testing was associated with sons’ HIV testing intentions. Findings were robust across both parent and son reports of parental behaviors. Parental condom use instruction was unrelated to sons’ condom use self-efficacy. Findings suggest that parent-based HIV prevention programs for sexual minority young men should encourage parents to provide instrumental assistance to their sons in accessing condoms and HIV testing. There is a need for further research to identify underlying mechanisms.

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Data Availability

Deidentified individual participant data (including data dictionaries) will be made available upon publication to researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal for use in achieving the goals of the approved proposal. Proposals should be submitted to davidhuebner@gwu.edu.

Notes

  1. REDCap is a HIPAA-compliant online data collection and management tool. This investigation used the version of the platform hosted at [MASKED FOR REVIEW].

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Funding

NIMH supported this research (Grant Nos. R34-MH112445; T32-MH078788). The funder had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication. This research has been facilitated by the services and resources provided by the District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research, an NIH funded program (P30AI117970), which is supported by the following NIH Co-Funding and Participating Institutes and Centers: NIAID, NCI, NICHD, NHLBI, NIDA, NIMH, NIA, NIDDK, NIMHD, NIDCR, NINR, FIC and OAR. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Rhode Island Hospital, 1 Hoppin Street, Suite 204, Providence, RI, RI 02903, USA

    Andrew P. Barnett

  2. Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Andrew P. Barnett

  3. Department of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA

    David M. Huebner

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Contributions

APB collaborated in the conception of the study, collaborated in the development of the analytic plan, performed the statistical analysis, collaborated in the interpretation of the data, and drafted the manuscript. DMH collaborated in the conception of the study, collaborated in the development of the analytic plan, and reviewed and edited drafts of the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Andrew P. Barnett.

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Ethical Approval

The institutional review board of the George Washington University approved the study (Study #101616).

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All participants ages 18 and over provided informed consent for participation. For participants under 18, parents provided permission, and participants provided informed assent.

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The authors have no competing interests to report.

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This article is based on findings presented at the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s 44th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, 26 to 29 April, 2023, Phoenix, Arizona, United States.

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Barnett, A.P., Huebner, D.M. Parent Facilitation of Condom Access and HIV Testing Associated with Improved Sexual Health Outcomes for Sexual Minority Young Men. AIDS Behav (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-024-04428-6

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