What are we missing? Risk behaviors among Arab‐American adolescents and emerging adults

Abstract

Background and purpose Research on Arab‐Americans as a distinct ethnic group is limited, especially when considering the health of Arab‐American youth. This study describes health risk (substance use, violence); health promotive behaviors (hope, spirituality); and sexual activity (oral, vaginal, anal sex) of Arab‐American adolescents and emerging adults (aged 15–23) within their life context, as well as the association between these behaviors. Methods A secondary analysis of data on a subset of Arab‐American participants obtained from a randomized‐control trial was utilized to conduct mixed methods analyses. Qualitative analyses completed on the open‐ended questions used the constant comparative method for a subsample (n = 24) of participants. Descriptive quantitative analyses of survey data utilized bivariate analyses and stepwise logistic regression to explore the relation between risk behaviors and sexual activity among the full sample (n = 57). Conclusions Qualitative analyses revealed two groups of participants: (a) multiple risk behaviors and negative life‐events, and (b) minimal risk behaviors and positive life‐events. Quantitative analyses indicated older youth, smokers, and those with higher hope pathways were more likely to report vaginal sex. Implications for practice The unique cultural and social contexts of Arab‐American youth provide a framework for recommendations for the prevention of risk behaviors.

The Health of Arab Americans in the United States: An Updated Comprehensive Literature Review

“…Adolescents experienced a great deal of discrimination from teachers, school administrators, and their classmates suggesting the need for more dedicated research on how discrimination impacts adolescents ( 128 ). A recent analysis by Munro-Kramer et al found two distinct subgroups of Arab American adolescents in their sample from the Midwest: those with multiple high risk behaviors and those with minimal risk behaviors and more positive life experiences ( 129 ). This analysis of high risk behaviors like sexual activity, tobacco use, and physical activity provides a perspective on the potential health needs of Arab American adolescents.…”

Family Sex Communication Among Arab American Young Adults: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…More recent research has shown that sexual attitudes of Arab American young adults lean toward permissiveness with some traditional norms reflected through sexual double standards (e.g., men are allowed to have premarital sex while women are not). However, and contrary to societal expectations, Arab American young adults are in fact engaging in sex outside of marriage or same-sex relationships but are not accessing adequate sexual health promotion resources or education, which place them at risk for adverse sexual health outcomes (Abboud et al, 2020;Munro-Kramer et al, 2016). Therefore, there is a need to understand the unique realities faced by this young population, including the familial influences to develop tailored sexual health promotion programs.…”

Adaptation of the event history calendar for Ugandan adolescents

“…Additionally, 'there is a growing international recognition that modern adolescence extends into the early 20s' (25). Given the overlap and fluidity between the two age groups, research with young people has expanded to include a wider range of youth, particularly those aged 16 to 25 (5,14,(26)(27)(28). Given this fluidity, the research team decided to recruit emerging adults enrolled in a university health science program to participate in the study.…”

“…Additionally, alcohol consumption is common for Ugandan adolescents and subsequently linked to other behaviors that can impact health including sexual risk behaviors (7,8). Seeley et al (9) found that being young (age [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] and participating in other risky behaviors (alcohol use, cigarette smoking) was associated with increased prevalence of HIV infection in Uganda.…”

“…Using Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model (2) as a framework, the EHC supports data collection related to the protective, risk, and other contextual factors that have an impact youth. Researchers in the United States have used the EHC to support data collection efforts with African-American (13), Arab American (14), Asian-American (15), Caucasian (13,16,17), Latin-American (12), and Native American (18) adolescents and emerging adults aged 13 to 23. The EHC has also been adapted for pregnancy (19) and eating and activity patterns for families (20).…”