Paper Proposal

For this paper I would like to examine the role of the family in the prevention of HIV/AIDS in adolescents. Higher parental involvement correlates negatively with risk taking behaviors in adolescents, which includes less risky sexual behavior such as sex with fewer partners and a greater incidence of contraceptive use. Ecodevelopmental theory cites that this must include family involvement at an individual/intimate level, parental monitoring of interactions with peers, and parental involvement in school. It also acknowledges that macro factors such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and immigrant status have an effect on the rate of adolescent infection. However the theory does little to address the tensions between the micro level expectations and macro level patterns, and for that reason it remains incomplete. The micro level structures focuses mainly on an “ideal” of the middle class nuclear family, while Hispanic, Black, and those of a low socioeconomic status are overrepresented in the macro level structures. In addition, the majority of families affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly childhood and adolescent cases, are Black or Hispanic, single parent families, and of a lower socioeconomic status.

While studies necessitate a functionalist role of the family in health, variation among race, socioeconomic class, and changing family structures challenge and complicate this theory.

By looking at studies of family structure and involvement over ethnicity and socioeconomic class I would like to examine the correlation between greater parental involvement and rates of HIV/AIDS in adolescents. In addition, I would like to examine different types of family structures on rates of infection, and the effect of tension between micro and macro level effects on intimacy and care. The highest prevalence is currently among Black single-mother families, but can changing family structures affect infection rate? The micro level structures of involvement focus on the time spent on intimate relations and care, but I do not think that this can, or should, be prescribed only to the nuclear family.