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African American adolescents living in high-poverty urban settings are at increased risk for early sexual initiation and sexually transmitted diseases.

To determine whether parental stategies to monitor their children's social behavior and to communicate with them about sexual risks help to reduce the initiation of risky sexual behavior and prevent the resulting adverse health outcomes.

To assess the viability of these strategies, we surveyed a stratified cross-section of African American children aged 9 to 17 years (N=355) living in urban public housing. Talking computers were used to increase the confidentiality and comparability of the interviews across the wide age range.

Children who reported high levels of parental monitoring were less likely to report initiating sex in preadolescence (aged ≤10 years) and reported lower rates of sexual initiation as they aged. Children who …