Mediating role of self‐esteem: Black Caribbean and African American adolescents' initiation of sex. Issue 6 (2nd February 2021) - Reid, Kaydian S.
Abstract: To determine how self‐esteem mediates the relationship between family support and initiation of sex for US‐born Black Caribbean compared to African American adolescents. Secondary data analyses were performed on responses from 1170 adolescents from the National Survey of American Life—Adolescents supplement (2003–2004). Weighted descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses were performed to examine whether initiation of sex on perceived family support is mediated by self‐esteem. The study population consists of 360 Black Caribbean and 810 African American adolescents. Sexual initiation prevalence was higher for Black Caribbean adolescents (42.1%) than African American adolescents (36.75%). The adjusted odds ratio for Black Caribbean adolescents' initiation of sex was 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.16–4.51) compared to African American adolescents' 0.59 (95% CI: 0.35–1.00). Self‐esteem represented a statistically significant mediation path and might be more important for African American adolescents' sexual health than the Black Caribbean. The unfounded mediating role of self‐esteem between perceived family support and Black Caribbean adolescents' sexual initiation suggests possible influences of Black heterogeneity stemming from ethnic identity differences in sexual health decision‐making.