The study found that sexually oriented parent-child communications that could be protective against adolescent behaviors that put them at risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases were impeded by parents' sense that they lacked the knowledge to talk about safe sex as well as by breakdowns in parent-child communication patterns. Both of these factors can be addressed in efforts to enhance protective factors against risky sexual behaviors. In earlier work, the authors designed and tested interventions that integrated both psychoeducation modules (e.g., parent versions of the youth HIV risk-reduction educational modules) and family therapy interventions that orchestrate productive parent-adolescent communications that address sexual behaviors. These modules are available to parents (separately from the youth) as optional components within a flexible treatment manual. As part of an intervention, family therapy sessions focused on facilitation of productive parent-adolescent discussions. All participating adolescents were recruited from the Juvenile Addictions Receiving Facility of a local southeastern hospital. The youth had been admitted for assessment of their substance abuse problem. The assessment battery consisted of self-report measures and semistructured interviews. Variables measured focused on demographics, including family ethnicity, acculturation status, attachment, parenting practices, and parental barriers to parent-child conversations. 4 tables and 29 references