TY - JOUR
T1 - Parent-based adolescent sexual health interventions and effect on communication outcomes
T2 - A systematic review and meta-analyses
AU - Santa Maria, Diane
AU - Markham, Christine
AU - Bluethmann, Shirley
AU - Mullen, Patricia Dolan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 by the Guttmacher Institute.
PY - 2015/3/1
Y1 - 2015/3/1
N2 - CONTEXT: Parent-based adolescent sexual health interventions aim to reduce sexual risk behaviors by bolstering parental protective behaviors. Few studies of theory use, methods, applications, delivery and outcomes of parent-based interventions have been conducted. METHODS: A systematic search of databases for the period 1998-2013 identified 28 published trials of U.S. parent-based interventions to examine theory use, setting, reach, delivery mode, dose and effects on parent-child communication. Established coding schemes were used to assess use of theory and describe methods employed to achieve behavioral change intervention effects were explored in meta-analyses. RESULTS: Most interventions were conducted with minority parents in group sessions or via self-paced activities; interventions averaged seven hours, and most used theory extensively. Meta-analyses found improvements in sexual health communication: Analysis of 11 controlled trials indicated a medium effect on increasing communication (Cohen's d, 0.5), and analysis of nine trials found a large effect on increasing parental comfort with communication (0.7); effects were positive regardless of delivery mode or intervention dose. Intervention participants were 68% more likely than controls to report increased communication and 75% more likely to report increased comfort. CONCLUSIONS: These findings point to gaps in the range of programs examined in published trials-for example, interventions for parents of sexual minority youth, programs for custodial grandparents and faith-based services. Yet they provide support for the effectiveness of parent-based interventions in improving communication. Innovative delivery approaches could extend programs' reach, and further research on sexual health outcomes would facilitate the meta-analysis of intervention effectiveness in improving adolescent sexual health behaviors.
AB - CONTEXT: Parent-based adolescent sexual health interventions aim to reduce sexual risk behaviors by bolstering parental protective behaviors. Few studies of theory use, methods, applications, delivery and outcomes of parent-based interventions have been conducted. METHODS: A systematic search of databases for the period 1998-2013 identified 28 published trials of U.S. parent-based interventions to examine theory use, setting, reach, delivery mode, dose and effects on parent-child communication. Established coding schemes were used to assess use of theory and describe methods employed to achieve behavioral change intervention effects were explored in meta-analyses. RESULTS: Most interventions were conducted with minority parents in group sessions or via self-paced activities; interventions averaged seven hours, and most used theory extensively. Meta-analyses found improvements in sexual health communication: Analysis of 11 controlled trials indicated a medium effect on increasing communication (Cohen's d, 0.5), and analysis of nine trials found a large effect on increasing parental comfort with communication (0.7); effects were positive regardless of delivery mode or intervention dose. Intervention participants were 68% more likely than controls to report increased communication and 75% more likely to report increased comfort. CONCLUSIONS: These findings point to gaps in the range of programs examined in published trials-for example, interventions for parents of sexual minority youth, programs for custodial grandparents and faith-based services. Yet they provide support for the effectiveness of parent-based interventions in improving communication. Innovative delivery approaches could extend programs' reach, and further research on sexual health outcomes would facilitate the meta-analysis of intervention effectiveness in improving adolescent sexual health behaviors.
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U2 - 10.1363/47e2415
DO - 10.1363/47e2415
M3 - Article
C2 - 25639664
AN - SCOPUS:84924798300
SN - 1538-6341
VL - 47
SP - 37
EP - 50
JO - Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
JF - Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
IS - 1
ER -