The Association Between African American Father–Child Relationships and HIV Testing

Abstract

The existing literature identifies parent communication as a protective mechanism in the reduction of sexual risk behaviors among youth; however, not much is known about father–child communication and bonding and its association with HIV testing. Therefore, this study examines the link between the relationship, bonding, and communication shared by African American (AA) fathers and their children and HIV testing over time. This secondary data analysis included data from Waves 1 and 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health on the health of adolescents to adults in a sample of AA males and females (N = 509), with a mean age of 16 years. The independent variables included fathers’ communication, bonding, and relationships, and the dependent variables included HIV testing. A multinomial analysis assessed the factors that contributed to or prevented HIV testing. It was found that the overall model was statistically significant; F(24, 55) = 8.95; p