Bullying Victimization and STIs: Parental Communication and Parental Sexual Communication as Moderators

Purpose: Informed by attachment theory, the current study explores whether the association between bullying victimization and STIs acquisition among African American youth is moderated by general parental communication or parental communication about sex. Method: Data were collected from 546 African American adolescents in four neighborhoods in Chicago’s South Side. Univariate analyses, Spearman’s rank-order correlation analyses, and hierarchical logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results: A positive association between bullying victimization and STIs acquisition was found. General parental communication did not moderate the association between bullying victimization and STIs acquisition. However, parental communication about sex did moderate the association between bullying victimization and youth STIs acquisition. Discussion: The study has important implications for developing interventions to address the adverse consequences of bully victimization that emphasize parental communication about sex as a major component.