A longitudinal study of aids conversations between mothers and adolescents

Abstract

The current study examined the stability of mother-adolescent AIDS conversations. Twenty-four mother-adolescent dyads (9 boys, 15 girls) participated at Time 1 (adolescents aged 10-14 years), and again 2 years later. Mothers and adolescents engaged in a videotaped conversation about AIDS and completed AIDS questionnaires. Conversations were coded for content and the extent to which mothers dominated conversations. Conversational dominance remained stable over time. AIDS knowledge was greater for mothers than adolescents, but it improved over time for adolescents while remaining stable for mothers. Mothers who reported discussing AIDS-related topics with their adolescents had less discrepancy between their own and their children's AIDS knowledge. Conversational dominance at Time 1 predicted discrepancy in AIDS knowledge 2 years later, whereas discrepancy in AIDS knowledge at Time 1 did not predict conversational dominance two years later. These results suggest the importance of interactive conversations as a more effective way of teaching than didactic conversations.