The purpose of this study was to identify the ways in which urban Jamaican mothers influence their adolescent daughters' sexual beliefs and behaviors in order to incorporate them into the design of a family-based, HIV risk-reduction intervention program. Focus groups were conducted with forty-six 14- to 18-year-old adolescent girls and 30 mothers or female guardians of adolescent girls recruited from community-based organizations in and around Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica. Separate focus groups were held with mothers and daughters; each included 6 to 10 participants. Focus group sessions were scripted, led by teams that included trained Jamaican and American facilitators and note-takers, and audio-taped to ensure accuracy of the data. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Four major maternal influences were identified: quality of the mother-daughter relationship, mother-daughter sexual communication, monitoring or supervision, and maternal sexual role modeling. Mothers' and daughters' reports were consistent; both groups identified positive and negative influences within each category. Some maternal influences were positive and health promoting; others were negative and promoted unsafe sexual activity and risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.