Improving communication between American Indian youth and caregivers to prevent teenage pregnancy.

American Indian (AI) youth are at increased risk for poor reproductive health outcomes. Parental communication and monitoring are established predictors of sexual risk-taking among adolescents. No program evaluations of sexual risk avoidance programs have focused exclusively on AI youth and parents. This study assesses the impact of the Respecting the Circle of Life (RCL) Teenage Pregnancy Prevention program on parent-youth communication and parental monitoring through a randomized controlled trial with AI youth ages 11-19 and their trusted adults (parents/caregivers) (N = 518). RCL consists of 8-peer group and one parent-youth session. Trusted adult participants completed the Parental Monitoring Scale and the Parent Adolescent Communication Scale at baseline and 3 and 9 months post-intervention via self-report. Intervention impact was evaluated using linear regression models, which included an indicator for study group. At 3 months post, trusted adults in the intervention reported significantly higher levels of sexual health communication (P = 0.042) and spoke to their child more often about how to get condoms (P = 0.001), get birth control (P = 0.014) and protect themselves from human immunodeficiency virus (P = 0.005) compared with trusted adults in the control condition. Program impact varied by age and sex. This study adds to literature and extends findings on RCL impact.

Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Pregnancy Prevention Among Native American Youths: A Randomized Controlled Trial, 2016-2018.

Objectives. To evaluate the efficacy of the Respecting the Circle of Life program (RCL) among Native American youths 11 to 19 years of age residing in a rural reservation community in the southwestern United States. Methods. Between 2016 and 2018, we conducted a randomized controlled trial of the RCL program with 534 Native youths. Participants completed assessments at baseline and 9 and 12 months after the intervention. We conducted intention-to-treat analyses based on study group randomization. Results. At 9 months, intervention participants had significantly better condom use self-efficacy (P < .001), higher intentions to use condoms (P = .024) and abstain from sex (P = .008), and better contraceptive use self-efficacy (P < .001) than control participants, as well as better condom use (P = .032) and contraceptive use (P = .002) negotiation skills. At 12 months, intervention participants had significantly better sexual and reproductive health knowledge (P = .021), condom use self-efficacy (P < .001), contraceptive use self-efficacy (P < .001), and contraceptive use negotiation skills (P = .004) than control participants. Intervention participants reported significantly more communication with their parents about sexual and reproductive health than control participants at both 9 and 12 months (P = .042 and P = .001, respectively). Conclusions. The RCL program has a significant impact on key factors associated with pregnancy prevention among Native youths and should be used as an adolescent pregnancy prevention strategy. Trial Registration.  Clinical Trials.gov identifier: NCT02904629. (Am J Public Health. 2021;111(10): 1874-1884. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306447).