Effectiveness of a Brief Home Parenting Intervention for Reducing Early Sexual Risks Among Latino Adolescents: Salud y Éxito.

BACKGROUND: Teen pregnancy rates and related risks remain elevated among Latino teens. We tested the impact on youth sexual behaviors of a brief, culturally targeted, bilingual media intervention designed for parents of young adolescents.

METHODS: Salud y éxito (Health & Success) uses dramatic audio stories to model positive parenting practices. After completing classroom surveys, 27 urban schools in the Northeast and Southwest serving low-income Latino communities were randomized so that all families of seventh grade students were sent either: (1) booklets on healthy eating and exercise; (2) Salud-50, where families either received booklets or the intervention, or (3) Salud-100, where all families received the intervention. Postintervention follow-up surveys were conducted at 3- and 12-months. Multilevel analyses tested intervention effects, controlling for sociodemographics.

RESULTS: Compared with controls, at 12-months postintervention (8th grade spring), youth in Salud-100 report lower sexual risks (touching, AOR 1.46, CI 1.19-0.84, p < .001; lifetime sex (AOR 0.74, CI 0.61-0.90, p < .01); and sex intentions (AOR 0.78, CI 0.63-0.96, p < .05). Consistent with a dose-response, Salud-50 results are between those from Salud-100 and control schools.

CONCLUSIONS: Salud y éxito is an effective parenting intervention that can augment school-based health and sexuality education and help Latino parents support their children during early adolescence.