Culture-Specific Factors Contributing to HIV Risk Among Jamaican Adolescents

The purpose of this article is to describe the results from an elicitation research study addressing the multisystem-level factors that contribute to HIV risk among Jamaican adolescents. Focus group and survey data were determined from parents, adolescents, and teachers in Kingston, Jamaica, from 2004 and 2005. Guided by an ecological extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior, focus groups and survey questionnaires identified cultural factors at the individual, family, and societal levels that significantly influence Jamaican adolescents’ behavioral, normative, and control beliefs related to sexual behaviors that contribute to risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Although some factors were similar to those reported among adolescents living in the United States, others were culture-specific influences and beliefs that were unique to Jamaica. Results from the current study could contribute to the development of theory-based, culture-specific HIV risk-reduction interventions for use with Jamaican adolescents.

Key words: HIV risk, Jamaican, adolescents, sexual risk behavior, Theory of Planned Behavior