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Ethnic Identity, Empowerment, Social Support and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Black Adolescent Girls: Examining Drug Use as a Mediator

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Abstract

Substance abuse and sexual health research tends to overlook the resiliency skills that Black adolescent girls possess. Using a strengths-based lens, this study examines the role of protective factors: (e.g. ethnic identity, social support, and psychological empowerment) on sexual risk behaviors testing drug use as a mediator among a sample of Black adolescent girls. The study uses a sample (N = 340) female adolescents (13–17 years old) who identified as being Black only and reside in a northeastern urban community in New Jersey. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized model of the mediating role of drug use on sexual risk behaviors among this sample. Findings revealed that drug use significantly mediated the relationship between social support, ethnic identity, and psychological empowerment on sexual risk behaviors, with high ethnic identity scores having the strongest relationship on low sexual risk behaviors and low levels of drug use. Given the rise of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States among Black adolescent girls, findings from this study can contribute to development of culturally appropriate and innovative strategies to reduce risky behaviors by promoting social and cultural strengths among Black girls living in urban communities.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Drug Free Communities Grant (DFC) Initiative (Grant #SP022-19-01), funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The first author was supported with funding from a National Institute on Drug Abuse training grant  (5T32 DA07233) and received partial funding support from a National Institute of Mental Health education grant (R25-MH087217). Points of view, opinions, and conclusions in this paper do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, USA

    Ijeoma Opara

  2. Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, USA

    Ijeoma Opara

  3. Department of Educational Foundations, Montclair State University, Montclair, USA

    Elizabeth I. Rivera Rodas

  4. Department of Family Science and Human Development, Montclair State University, Montclair, USA

    Pauline Garcia-Reid & Robert J. Reid

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  1. Ijeoma Opara
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Correspondence to Ijeoma Opara.

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Opara, I., Rodas, E. .R., Garcia-Reid, P. et al. Ethnic Identity, Empowerment, Social Support and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Black Adolescent Girls: Examining Drug Use as a Mediator. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 39, 71–86 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-020-00706-z

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