Reproductive Attitudes and Behavior Among Latina Adolescents

Immigration Measures and Reproductive Health Among Hispanic Youth: Findings from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997–2003

“…The finding that first-generation male and female adolescents transitioned to sexual intercourse later than third-generation youth is consistent with the majority of previous literature [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], which mainly focused on Hispanic females. Our findings of less consistent contraception use at age 17 among first-generation males and females and among second-generation females, as well as less consistent condom Table 3 Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals associated with immigration factors in relation to transition to sexual interscourse before age 18, contraceptive and condom use at first sex, consistent contraceptive and condom use at age 17, live birth before age 20, and multiple live births a , among the full Hispanic sample, weighted, National use among first-generation males, have not been reported previously to our knowledge.…”

“…Research linking generation to contraceptive use is more limited. Results from two community-based convenience samples with small numbers of respondents found a greater likelihood of participation in postpartum family planning among first-generation Latinas [19] on the one hand, but no relationship between generation and contraceptive use at last sexual intercourse [11] on the other.…”

“…In general, later generation status appears to correspond with earlier initiation of sexual intercourse and lower rates of adolescent childbearing, while findings related to use of contraceptives are equivocal. Several studies of male and female adolescents [9,10] and of Latinas only [11][12][13][14][15] report that U.S-born or second-and-higher generation Hispanic adolescents are more likely to become sexually active or report a history of sexual risk [15] than first-generation adolescents. Two studies, however, failed to find any significant association [16,17] and another [18] found earlier sexual activity among first-generation teens.…”

Acculturation and HIV-related sexual behaviours among international migrants: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…For example, traditional Latino cultures advocate sexual abstinence and discourage sexual activity among adolescent girls (Pavich, 1986). During the acculturation process, Latino women may discard the traditional values on sexual abstinence and engage in risky sexual behaviors (Jimenez, Potts, & Jimenez, 2002; Schwartz et al, 2011). In contrast, Latino men who are not restricted by the norm of sexual abstinence may experience a small change in sexual behaviors.…”

A Cross-National Comparison of Youth Risk Behaviors in Latino Secondary School Students Living in El Salvador and the USA

“…Lastly, the large disparity in sexual experience may reflect genuine differences regarding sexual behavior among Latino adolescents living in the USA and El Salvador. This explanation is supported by Kaplan et al (2002) and Jimenez et al (2002) who found that less acculturated Latino adolescents were less likely to engage in sexual activity.…”