Longmire-Avital, associate professor of psychology, has published an article on the sexual health communication styles of emerging adult heterosexually-active black women.
Associate Professor of Psychology Buffie Longmire-Avital has published an article on the sexual health communication styles of emerging adult heterosexually-active black women in the Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships.
Longmire-Avital examined the strategies for requesting partner disclosure of sexual health history used by 104 emerging adult heterosexually active black women (ages 18–29, M = 23). Using a conventional content analysis approach, three strategies emerged. The “straight out” or a “blunt” direct request, which is a sexually assertive style was reported by 70% (n = 53) of the women. The other two request strategies were joint testing or disclosure, and partner-initiated disclosure.
Heterosexually active black American women are still at heightened risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Findings from this study suggest that some black American women are not passive or without voice when sustaining their sexual health. These findings align with the recent drop in prevalence rates for HIV among black women. The online first article citation is listed below:
Longmire-Avital, B. (2019). “I Asked for the Papers”: How Emerging Adult Black Women Request Sexual Health Information. Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships 6(1), 29-48. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/741755.