Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sex and Drug Risk Behavior Pre- and Post-Emigration Among Latino Migrant Men in Post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

High rates of sex and drug risk behaviors have been documented among Latino migrant men in the US. Whether these behaviors were established in the migrants’ home countries or were adopted in the US has not been described and has implications for prevention strategies. Quarterly surveys were conducted to gather information on selected sex and drug risk practices of Latino migrant men who arrived in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina seeking work. Both kappa scores and McNemar’s tests were performed to determine if practice of these behaviors in home country was similar to practice post-emigration to the US. Female sex worker (FSW) patronage, same sex encounters (MSM), and crack cocaine use was more likely to occur post- rather than pre-emigration. Of those who ever engaged in these selected behaviors, most adopted the behavior in the US (i.e., 75.8 % of FSW patrons, 72.7 % of MSM participants, and 85.7 % of crack cocaine users), with the exception of binge drinking (26.8 %). Men who were living with a family member were less likely to adopt FSW patronage OR = 0.27, CI = 0.10–0.76, whereas men who earned >$465 per week were more likely to adopt crack cocaine use OR = 6.29 CI = 1.29, 30.57. Interventions that facilitate the maintenance of family cohesion and provide strategies for financial management may be useful for reducing sex and drug risk among newly arrived migrants.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Parrado E, Flippen C, McQuiston C. Use of commercial sex workers among Hispanic migrants in North Carolina: implications for the spread of HIV. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2004;36:150–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Organista K, Organista P. Migrant laborers and AIDS in the United States: a review of the literature. AIDS Educ Prev. 1997;9:83–93.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Saint-Jean G, Devieux J, Malow R, Tammara H, Carney K. Substance Abuse, acculturation, and HIV risk among Caribbean-born immigrants in the United States. J Int Assoc Physicians AIDS Care (Chic) 2011.

  4. Shedlin MG, Decena CU, Oliver-Velez D. Initial acculturation and HIV risk among new Hispanic immigrants. J Natl Med Assoc. 2005;97:32S–7S.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Harawa NT, Bingham TA, Cochran SD, Greenland S, Cunningham WE. HIV prevalence among foreign- and US-born clients of public STD clinics. Am J Public Health. 2002;92:1958–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Pulerwitz J, Izazola-Licea JA, Gortmaker SL. Extrarelational sex among Mexican men and their partners’ risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Am J Public Health. 2001;91:1650–2.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Rhodes SD, Bischoff WE, Burnell JM, et al. HIV and sexually transmitted disease risk among male Hispanic/Latino migrant farmworkers in the Southeast: findings from a pilot CBPR study. Am J Ind Med. 2010;53:976–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Brammeier M, Chow JM, Samuel MC, Organista KC, Miller J, Bolan G. Sexually transmitted diseases and risk behaviors among California farmworkers: results from a population-based survey. J Rural Health. 2008;24:279–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kissinger P, Liddon N, Schmidt N, Curtin E, Salinas O, Narvaez A. HIV/STI Risk behaviors among Latino migrant workers in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina disaster. Sex Transm Dis. 2008;35:924–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Kissinger P, Kovacs S, Anderson-Smits C, et al. Patterns and predictors of HIV/STI risk among Latino migrant men in a new receiving community. AIDS Behav 2011.

  11. Passel J, Cohn D. Mexican immigrants: how many come? How many leave? Pew Hispanic Center July 22, 2009 Report 2009.

  12. Painter T. Connecting the dots: when the risks of HIV/STD infection appear high but the burden of infection is not known-the case of male Latino migrants in the Southern United States. AIDS Behav. 2008;12:213–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Kochhar R, Suro R, Tafoy S. The new Latino south: The context and consequences of rapid population growth. July 2005.

  14. Paz-Bailey G, Teran S, Levine W, Markowitz LE. Syphilis outbreak among Hispanic immigrants in Decatur, Alabama: association with commercial sex. Sex Transm Dis. 2004;31:20–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Donato K, Hakimzadeh, S. The changing face of the Gulf Coast: immigration to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Migration Policy Institute 2006 January 1, 2006. http://www.migrationinformation.org/usfocus/display.cfm?ID=368.

  16. Fussell E. Hurricane Chassers in New Orleans: Latino immigrants as a source of rapid response labor force. Hisp J Behav Sci. 2009;31:375–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. US Census B. American Community Survey, General Characteristics for Orleans Parish, Louisiana. US Census Bureau; 2006. http://www.census.gov/acs/www/.

  18. Salgado de Snyder VN, Acevedo A, Díaz-Pérez MJ, Saldívar-Garduño A. Understanding the sexuality of Mexican-born women and their risk for HIV/AIDS. Psychol Women Q. 2000;8:134–42.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Duke MR, Gomez Carpinteiro FJ. The effects of problem drinking and sexual risk among Mexican migrant workers on their community of origin. Hum Organ. 2009;68:328.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Hirsch JS, Meneses S, Thompson B, Negroni M, Pelcastre B, del Rio C. The inevitability of infidelity: sexual reputation, social geographies, and marital HIV risk in rural Mexico. Am J Public Health. 2007;97:986–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Heckathorn D. Respondent-driven sampling: a new approach to the study of hidden populations. Soc Probl. 1997;44:174–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Behling O, Law K. Translating questionnaires and other research instruments: Problems and solutions. London; 2000.

  23. de la Puente M, Pan Y, Rose D. An overview of a proposed census bureau guidelines for the translation of data collection instruments and supporting materials. Washington DC; 2003.

  24. Alcoholism. NIoAAa. NIAAA council approves definition of binge drinking. NIAAA Newsletter. 2004;3.

  25. Landis J, Koch G. The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics. 1997;33:159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Valdez A, Cepeda A, Negi NJ, Kaplan C. Fumando La Piedra: emerging patterns of crack use among Latino immigrant day laborers in New Orleans. J Immigr Minor Health. 2009.

  27. Parrado EA, Flippen CA. Migration and sexuality: a comparison of Mexicans in sending and receiving communities. J Soc Issues. 2010;66:175–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Parrado EA, Flippen C. Community attachment, neighborhood context, and sex worker use among Hispanic migrants in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Soc Sci Med. 2010;70:1059–69.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Hernandez MT, Sanchez MA, Ayala L, et al. Methamphetamine and cocaine use among Mexican migrants in California: the California-Mexico epidemiological surveillance pilot. AIDS Educ Prev. 2009;21:34–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Donato KM, Aguilera M, Wakabayashi C. Immigration policy and employment conditions of US immigrants from Mexico, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic1. Int Migr. 2005;43:5–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Borges G, Breslau J, Orozco R, et al. A cross-national study on Mexico-US migration, substance use and substance use disorders. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2011;117:16–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Alaniz M. Migration, acculturation, displacement: migratory workers and “Substance Abuse”. Subst Use Misuse. 2002;37:1253–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. McCoy HV, Hlaing WM, Ergon-Rowe E, Samuels D, Malow R. Lessons from the fields: a migrant HIV prevention project. Public Health Rep. 2009;124:790–6.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the following agencies for provision of space for interviewing: Family Advocacy Care and Education Services of Children’s Hospital, NO/AIDS Task Force, South West Louisiana Area Health Education Center; and for provision of materials and testing services: Louisiana Office of Public Health, N’R PEACE, Delgado Personal Health Center; and for their advice and input into survey questions: Louisiana Latino Health Coalition, the Latino Forum and The Latino Commission on AIDS—Deep South Project. This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Grant Number R21DA030269 and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant number H25 ps604346-16. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NIDA, the NIH or the CDC.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, SL-18, 1440 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Jennifer Mills, Nicole Burton, Norine Schmidt, Oscar Salinas, John Hembling, Alberto Aran & Patricia Kissinger

  2. New York University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USA

    Michele Shedlin

Authors
  1. Jennifer Mills
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nicole Burton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Norine Schmidt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Oscar Salinas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. John Hembling
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Alberto Aran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Michele Shedlin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Patricia Kissinger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patricia Kissinger.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mills, J., Burton, N., Schmidt, N. et al. Sex and Drug Risk Behavior Pre- and Post-Emigration Among Latino Migrant Men in Post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. J Immigrant Minority Health 15, 606–613 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9650-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9650-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation