South University, Richmond Professor of Nursing’s Dissertation Published

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Sharon Lewis-Keith, assistant professor of nursing at South University, Richmond has had her dissertation “Predicting Sexual Assertiveness among Black Women” selected and confirmed for poster presentation and publishing  during the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) 2018 Annual Meeting & Expo (Nov. 10 – Nov. 14) in San Diego, as well at the 2018 HIV/AIDS International Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands July 22-27.  

 The purpose of this quantitative research study was to determine if four aspects of sexual assertiveness differed across demographic categories and if self-esteem was significantly associated with these four aspects among Black women living in Virginia. The two research questions posed were “Are there significant differences in Black women’s sexual assertiveness (DV) by age, income, education, sexual orientation, and relationship status (IV)? And, “Is self-esteem (IV) significantly associated with Black women’s sexual assertiveness (DV)?” Methods: A cross-sectional correlational research study design was conducted with a community-based sample of 117 adult Black women. Self-esteem was measured using the Single-item Self-esteem Scale. The Sexual Assertiveness Scale was used to measure four types of sexual assertiveness. Statistical analyses were conducted using one-way ANOVAs and Pearson bivariate correlations.

 The findings of the study suggest that HIV/AIDS prevention and education initiatives focusing on educational attainment and building self-esteem would be beneficial in building sexual assertiveness attitudes and behaviors among Black women.