Feasibility Testing a Family-Level Intervention to Prevent Risky Sex Behaviors Among Middle School-Age Latinas

In this article, we report a pilot study that tested the feasibility and initial efficacy of a culturally, linguistically, and developmentally tailored risky sex prevention intervention for middle school-age Latinas and their mothers.

We used a one-group pre-test, post-test, and 3-month post-intervention follow-up design. Data were collected at three points on aspects of the girls' communication, beliefs, and behaviors.

Promising results included improvements in girl's self-efficacy regarding condom communication and condom consistent use, and in mother-teen sexual risk communication. There were also trends in demonstration of fewer risky sex behaviors.

These findings suggest that the "Latina-Girls Empowered through Mind and Mission" (L-GEMM) intervention for young Latinas and their mothers is feasible and warrants further testing.

Nurses are uniquely positioned to deliver risky sex preventive interventions to young Latinas. Including mothers and tailoring interventions to build on cultural strengths are important for success.