HIV in South African Youth: Relations with Parenting Quality and Executive Functioning

• Main Author: Salama, Christina H
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Archive @ GSU 2011
• Subjects: HIV; South Africa; Adolescents; Risk behavior; Executive functioning; Psychology
• Online Access: http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/psych_theses/90; http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1089&context=psych_theses

Black South Africans account for a majority of HIV cases in South Africa, highlighting the need for greater understanding of risks specific to this group. Within the HIV prevention and risk literature, little information exists regarding the familial and neuropsychological contributions to HIV risk in youth. The current study addressed this gap. In a group of black South African parent-child dyads, the researchers investigated the independent and interactive contributions of parenting quality and executive functioning in the prediction of HIV risk. Child report of relationship quality was negatively associated with risky sexual attitudes and externalizing behaviors. Parent report of parental monitoring/involvement was negatively associated with child pre-coital behaviors. Cognitive inflexibility interacted with child report of parental monitoring/involvement in its relation with externalizing behaviors. Results indicated that parenting may protect black South African youth with respect to HIV risk, and that executive functioning may play an indirect role in this relationship.