Intragroup Differences among African Jamaican and African American Women: Empowerment, Male Condom-use Intentions and Negotiation

Abstract

ABSTRACTAfrican American/Black women’s rate of HIV infection has been explored along several variables. Understanding how the epidemic affects different ethnic groups of women is crucial in developing effective prevention strategies. There remains a gap in knowledge around the effects of ethnicity on the rate of infection among the culturally diverse groups of women living in the U.S. subsumed under the label African American/Black. The purpose of the study is to explore whether cultural differences exist among African Jamaican and African American women that may affect their empowerment and condom-use intentions, placing them at a more heightened risk of contracting HIV. The results indicate that women’s sense of power, either in their relationships or within themselves, was not related to their condom-use self-efficacy or condom-use intentions. Although none of the five hypotheses was fully supported, related significant findings suggest that women’s level of acculturation was negatively related to their intentions to negotiate condom use. The longer women were in the United States, the lower their condom-use intentions.