Parents' beliefs of the Black Church's role in teen pregnancy prevention

Abstract

Introduction: Parents are important decision makers in black churches. The objective of this qualitative study was to identify African American parents' beliefs of the Black Church's role in preventing teen pregnancy and promoting healthy teen relationships.

Methods: Parent members (n = 36) of 27 predominately Black churches in two southwestern US cities participated in semi-structured interviews from February-June 2017. A question path was developed based on literature searches, key informant interviews, and a previous study with local pastors, and questions focused on parents' knowledge/beliefs about 1) sexuality education, 2) the church's role in preventing teen pregnancy, and 3) implementation obstacles. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded using NVivo, and open-coded for themes to investigate patterns across codes and participants. Transcripts were then reviewed for quotes to represent each theme.

Results: Five themes were identified, with multiple subthemes. Most parents said there should be no boundaries on the type of sexuality information shared by their church, but later changed their minds after reviewing a list of potential topics. Parents listed 'parent-child communication', 'goals and dreams', and 'relationships' as the most important topics for teen pregnancy prevention intervention. Parents said information shared during workshops should be judgement-free and realistic. Parents most often said pastors and/or youth pastors/directors should deliver sexual health information. Parents believed older adults and other parents may oppose sexual education.

Conclusions: By understanding parents' beliefs of teen pregnancy prevention programs, public health practitioners can understand concerns, modify implementation strategies, and utilize parental support to gain buy-in before planning and implementing programs.

Keywords: Black church; Parent; Teen pregnancy.