This study sought to explore the relationship between religiosity, high risk sexual behavior, and sexual self-efficacy in Black American woman. As a growing health concern and one of the leading causes of death for African American women in the U.S., a goal of this study was to examine which factor, if any, had the greatest influence on minimizing HIV/AIDS related sexual risk behavior (i.e., frequency of condom use and number of male sexual partners) in Black American women. Using a revised version of Allport and Ross' Religious Orientation Scale (1967) – the Intrinsic/Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale-Revised (I/E-R), Rosenthal et al.'s (1991) Sexual Self-Efficacy Scale (SSE), and the Demographic and HIV/AIDS Risk Assessment Questionnaire (DHRA-Q) that was developed for this study, an online survey was developed and data were collected from 102 Black American women between the ages of 20 and 49 in Baltimore, Maryland. Findings from this study revealed sexual self-efficacy, more than religiosity, to have an influence on women's risky sexual behavior (i.e., number of sexual partners and frequency of condom use). This study also revealed noteworthy findings relating to the application of the measures used. Specifically, a factor analysis of the I/E-R revealed the measure to be reliable for use with this population with minimal modifications. This study also revealed the SSE to show strong reliability for a new subscale - SSE Prevention. Findings also support implications for continued prevention efforts in the Black faith community, to include incorporating standardized, culturally focused, sexuality education training to clergy. While the ability to generalize findings from this study, given the sample, are limited to Black American women who may identify as middle class and live in urban, southeastern U.S., overall, findings provide an interesting first look into the religiosity-sexual self-efficacy-sexual risk behavior relationship among Black American women and provides a promising foundation for implications for future research and practice.

Keywords: African American, Baltimore, Black, HIV/AIDS, Maryland, religiosity, self-efficacy, sexual, women