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Learning Objective 1: describe strategies for building racial/cultural pride in African American middle school age girls.
Learning Objective 2: examine the utility of building racial/cultural pride in African American middle school age girls as a strategy for risky sex prevention.
Methods: After IRB approval, using convenience and other sampling strategies, African American college enrolled young women, mothers and then fathers were recruited for participation in three focus groups. After consenting participants, open-ended questions were posed including “What strategies would you recommend to help build girls’ racial/cultural pride”. Groups were audiotaped and tapes transcribed. Content analysis was performed on the transcripts.
Results: Twenty-three participants were included in the three focus groups. Strategies recommended included promoting the girls’ self-esteem, addressing different shades of skin color because that is “related to how they feel inside”, addressing stereotypes about African American women, having the girls do research about their race and ancestry, providing positive views of their culture and of members of their same race, and promoting engagement of the fathers with daughters.
Conclusion: Racial/cultural pride may be protective for African American girls in terms of risky sex behaviors. Strategies for building racial/cultural pride can be implemented in risky sex prevention interventions with African American middle school age girls.
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