Quality of parent–child relationship and adolescent HIV risk behaviour in St. Maarten

Abstract

The highest incidence rates of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean are recorded in heterosexual and youth populations. With sparse prevention and intervention programmes in place, there is a pressing need to address the HIV/AIDS risk of youth. The objective of this analysis was to describe the extent of youth risk behaviour in St. Maarten and explore the relationship between quality of parental-child relationship and adolescent HIV risk behaviours. The sample consisted of 1,078 students (age range 14–18, mean 15.6 (s.d. 1.7). The data were collected by self-report survey in the Spring of 2001 in the classrooms of all seven secondary schools in St. Maarten. The survey instrument included demographic information, and used questions derived from the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) to assess health risk behaviour prevalence, including tobacco, alcohol, and drug use, and sexual activity. The survey also asked youth to rate their relationship with their parents. Analysis showed a relatively high rate of risk behaviour in this school population. Multi-variate analysis showed that a ‘great’ relationship with both parents, as perceived by the student, was significantly associated with lower rates of tobacco and alcohol use as well as lower rates of sexual activity.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Winifred L. Stevens Foundation. The authors would like to thank Kari Homan for her assistance in data analysis and Alina Baltazar for her assistance with literature reviews.

Notes

1. The island of St. Maarten/St. Martin is 37 square miles in size and since 1848 has been divided between two governments, France and the Netherlands. The Dutch side (St. Maarten) comprises most of the southern half of the Island and had a population of about 39,000 in 2000. The capital of St. Maarten is Philipsburg. In the past, the economy of St. Maarten was based on trade in salt, cotton, sugar, and tobacco. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the economy went into severe depression. This economic stagnation began to change in 1939 when the Netherlands declared St. Maarten a free trade port. Today St. Maarten is a part of the Netherlands Antilles and is a centre of international trade and tourism. Dutch is the official language but English is taught in the schools and is widely spoken. A dialect called Papiamento is also spoken. Spanish is spoken among immigrant workers. Ethnically, about 77 nationalities live of the island with most of the population identifying themselves as of mixed African decent.