Mothers: The major force in preventing HIV/STD risk behaviors

Abstract

The focus of this chapter is on mothers serving as protective factors against high-risk sexual behaviors for their adolescents. We present information about the scope of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among adolescents in the United States, followed by a discussion of the role of mothers and the impact of mothers' influence on their adolescents' high-risk sexual behaviors. We then present several innovative HIV-risk reduction interventions designed to include mothers as key agents in the fight against HIV in the adolescent population.