“I'm not gonna die because of an STD”: Female African American adolescents' perspectives on how they protected themselves from sexual risks while in foster care

Purpose: Youth in foster care are at greater risk for engaging in sexual behaviors that increase their odds of experiencing negative sexual and reproductive health (SRH) outcomes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe challenges faced by female African American adolescents in foster care as they tried to protect themselves from SRH risks and protective beliefs and behaviors to avoid these risks. Design and methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 female African American adolescents, ages 18–20 years, with a history of foster care placement during adolescence. Purposive sampling was done to recruit participants from a metropolitan area in Virginia. Transcribed interviews underwent inductive thematic analysis. This paper focuses on the theme of protection from SRH risks and its subthemes of challenges that made it difficult to avoid sexual risks and protective beliefs and behaviors that facilitated avoidance of those risks. Results: Participants reported yearning for connection, partners' desire to not use condoms, and judgmental caregivers as challenges. Protective beliefs and behaviors included open communication with their caregivers about SRH, abstinence, contraceptive use, and participants' desire to be healthy. Conclusions: Study findings shed light on protective beliefs and behaviors female youth in foster care used to safeguard themselves from negative SRH outcomes. Youth at times lacked agency in sexual decision-making and contraceptive use. Practice implications: Findings highlight the importance of sexual relationships and partner communication related to contraceptive use, and offering trauma-informed interventions, including culturally sensitive counseling regarding long acting reversible contraception.