Effect of a Multimedia Intervention on Outcomes Expectations and Perceived Self-Efficacy for the Sex Educator Role for Parents/Caregivers of African American Adolescent Males

Risky sexual behavior among youth is a national concern and places adolescents at high risk for undesirable health outcomes. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, African American males are more likely to engage in intercourse before age 13 than other racial groups. Research reporting positive impact of parent-adolescent sex communication on influencing risky behaviors has rarely included parents of African American adolescent males. A systematic review of the literature examining health literacy in African Americans supported the importance of including non-print sources of information for this population. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of a multimedia intervention on outcome expectations and self-efficacy for the sex educator role among parents of African American adolescents. A quasi-experimental design, guided by Bandura\u27s Social Cognitive Theory, was used to test the effect of the multimedia intervention in a sample of 61 African American parents with adolescent sons. Paired samples t-test revealed significant (p\u3c.001) improvement in parent outcome expectations and self- efficacy for talking about sex. Although health literacy was not significantly related to parent perceived self-efficacy for the sex educator role, content analysis of open ended questions revealed that parents found use of a compact disk and research packet activities facilitated communication about sex with their sons. These findings suggest health care providers should assess health literacy prior to planning teaching interventions and consider using non-print media to facilitate health communication