What African-American middle school youth report about risk-taking behaviors.

Introduction: African-American youth represent the heaviest burden for HIV in all U.S. ethnic groups. The risk assessment was conducted with a group of suburban and urban African-American middle school children prior to the implementation of a faith-based substance abuse and HIV prevention program. The purpose of the study on risk-taking was to examine the sample's level and predictors of social adaptation and risk-taking processes and to examine their ideas about risk and risk-taking behavior.

Methods: A correlation design was used to determine relationships between risky behaviors and scores for risk taking and social adaptation. A descriptive design guided open-ended questions about risk and risk-taking behaviors. Data were collected in two youth ministries. The nonprobability sample consisted of 45 male and female subjects in the suburban pre-intervention group and 39 male and female subjects in the urban comparison group.

Results: Findings include a statistically significant relationship between male gender and alcohol use and risk-taking scores in the suburban pre-intervention group; in addition, sexual activity and drug use were predictive of higher risk-taking scores in the urban comparison group. The urban comparison group also reported significantly higher risk-taking behaviors than did the suburban group.

Discussion: Data from this study suggest the need for substance abuse and HIV prevention programs for middle school youth before problem behaviors become established.