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Immigrant Generation and Sexual Initiation Among a Diverse Racial/Ethnic Group of Urban Youth

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Abstract

Foreign-born youth have a lower risk of sexual initiation than native born youth, yet most research has focused on Latinos. An ethnically diverse sample of 200, 14–21 year-old youth were surveyed in Denver in 2014. We used logistic regression models to predict the odds of intentions to have sex and sexual experience, adding covariates that could account for differences in outcomes by immigrant generation. First generation youth were less likely to intend to have sex and to have sexual experience than third generation youth after controlling for racial/ethnic group, suggesting that first generation immigrants of multiple racial/ethnic groups, not just Latinos alone, have a lower risk for sexual initiation. Having a supportive community reduced the odds of sexual intentions and sexual experience. Our findings support future research using a larger sample of black, white, and Asian immigrant youth to corroborate and to explore reasons behind these associations.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded by Ford Foundation Grant 0130-0338. The authors would also like to thank Charlene Barrientos Ortiz for her assistance with participant recruitment and our partners in this project: YTH (Youth Tech Health) in Oakland, CA; National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health in Washington, DC; and the Latino Research and Policy Center and Florence Crittenton Youth Service in Denver, Colorado.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, 305 E. 23rd Street, Stop G1800, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Kate Coleman-Minahan

  2. Department of Community and Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Marisol Chavez & Sheana Bull

Authors
  1. Kate Coleman-Minahan
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  2. Marisol Chavez
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Correspondence to Kate Coleman-Minahan.

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Coleman-Minahan, K., Chavez, M. & Bull, S. Immigrant Generation and Sexual Initiation Among a Diverse Racial/Ethnic Group of Urban Youth. J Immigrant Minority Health 19, 1412–1419 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0420-4

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