Testing an Online Intervention to Improve Parents' Communication With Gay and Bisexual Sons About Sex and HIV

Change in Sexual Health Communication Checklist score -- Parents

This is a new measure developed for this pilot study. Thus, we will first examine the measure's reliability and validity. Assuming acceptable psychometric properties, this will be the primary outcome measure. The checklist queries parents and children whether they have engaged in four different activities specifically recommended by our intervention: providing information about HIV, providing information about correct condom usage, providing information about condom acquisition, and supporting HIV testing. For each of those four activities, families have multiple ways to do the activity (e.g., for providing information about correct condom use, parents can: send a video, explain the process, or demonstrate the process). Thus, the checklist queries 11 specific behaviors. Families are coded as having completed the activity if they have engaged in any one of the multiple behaviors congruent with the corresponding activity. Thus, scores on the measure range from 0-4.

Time frame: Parents are queried about whether they engaged in these behaviors at three time points: baseline, 4-6 week follow-up, and 8-12 week follow-up. We will assess change from baseline to each of the two followup points.

Change in Sexual Health Communication Checklist score -- Child

This is a new measure developed for this pilot study. Thus, we will first examine the measure's reliability and validity. Assuming acceptable psychometric properties, this will be the primary outcome measure. The checklist queries parents and children whether they have engaged in four different activities specifically recommended by our intervention: providing information about HIV, providing information about correct condom usage, providing information about condom acquisition, and supporting HIV testing. For each of those four activities, families have multiple ways to do the activity (e.g., for providing information about correct condom use, parents can: send a video, explain the process, or demonstrate the process). Thus, the checklist queries 11 specific behaviors. Families are coded as having completed the activity if they have engaged in any one of the multiple behaviors congruent with the corresponding activity. Thus, scores on the measure range from 0-4.

Time frame: Sons are queried about whether their parents engaged in these behaviors at baseline and at 12 week followup. We will assess change from baseline to followup.