Author(s)

Norman K. Waldron, M. Katherine Hutchinson, Hermi H. Hewitt, Pansy I. Hamilton

Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica;.
Hugh Wynter Fertility Management Unit, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica.
New York University College of Nursing, New York, USA.
The UWI School of Nursing, The University of the West Indies (UWI), Kingston, Jamaica.

Background: HIV/AIDS represents a serious health threat in Jamaica. Adolescent and young adult females are at particularly high risk. US studies have shown that parent-teen sexual communication may significantly influence the sexual risk-related beliefs and behaviors. However, no studies have examined parent-teen sexual communication in Jamaica or the wider Caribbean. Objective: The study aims to describe patterns of parent-teen sexual communication between Jamaican mothers and adolescent daughters and assess the psychometric properties of the Parent-Teen Sexual Risk Communication (PTSRC-III) scale when used with this population. Method: Data were collected as part of a larger randomized controlled trial study. A total of 330 urban Jamaican adolescent girls, ages 13 - 17, and their mothers or female guardians completed the 8-item PTSRC-III scale at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Results: Mothers’ and daughters’ scores covered the full range of possible scores. Internal reliability of the PTSRC-III scale was excellent (α = 0.92 and 0.93 for mothers and daughters, respectively). There was evidence of consistency over time (r = 0.57, p < 0.001) and moderate mother-daughter concordance in reports of sexual communication (r = 0.27, p < 0.001). Daughters’ PTSRC-III scores were significantly correlated with daughters’ reports of comfort and ease with mother-daughter sexual communication (r = 0.427, p < 0.001), mother- daughter closeness (r = 0.288, p < 0.001), and importance of mothers’ approval (r = 0.146, p = 0.008). A two-factor structure was identified, although the second factor showed a lower eigen-value than was found in previous US studies. The loading pattern and explanation of variance were very similar to the factor 2 described in the initial psychometric testing of the PTSRC-III instrument. Discussion: Patterns of sexual communication and the psychometrics of the scale when used in Jamaica were consistent with US results, and provided evidence of the cross-cultural reliability and validity of the PTSRC-III scale.

Adolescent Sexual Risk; Sexual Communication; Psychometric Assessment; Reliability

Waldron, N. , Hutchinson, M. , Hewitt, H. and Hamilton, P. (2012) Cross-cultural psychometric assessment of the parent-teen sexual risk communication (PTSRC-III) scale in Jamaica. Open Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2, 205-213. doi: 10.4236/ojpm.2012.22030.