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Acculturation and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Latina Adolescents Transitioning to Young Adulthood

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Abstract

Latinas in the United States are at a disproportionate risk for STDs and sexual risk behaviors. Among Latinas, acculturation has been found to be one of the most important predictors of these behaviors. Therefore, this study examined the longitudinal association between Latina adolescents’ level of acculturation and multiple sexual risk outcomes, including self-report STD diagnosis, four or more life-time sex partners, regret of sexual initiation after alcohol use, and lack of condom use during young adulthood. Based on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study includes a nationally representative sample of 1,073 Latina adolescents (ages 11–20 at Wave 1) transitioning into young adulthood (ages 18–27 at Wave 3). Our findings indicate that more acculturated Latinas who spoke English at home were more likely to have STDs and to exhibit sexual risk behaviors than Latinas who were foreign-born and did not use English at home. Interventions that aim to promote sexual and reproductive health among young Latinas should take into consideration their different levels of acculturation. This approach holds greater potential for reducing health disparities among Latinas.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant from California State University Northridge College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Summer 2009 Research Competition. This research uses data from Add Health, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, and funded by grant P01-HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should refer to www.cpc.unc.edu/addhealth/contract.html or contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516-2524. The authors thank Stephanie Tzu-Han Chang, Lisa Ng, and Elizabeth Anne Porter for helpful review of the manuscript. Finally, the authors are grateful for the comments of anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Department of Social Work, California State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA, 91330-8226, USA

    Jieha Lee

  2. School of Social Work, Boston University, 264 Bay State Road, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Hyeouk Chris Hahm

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  1. Jieha Lee
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Lee, J., Hahm, H.C. Acculturation and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Latina Adolescents Transitioning to Young Adulthood. J Youth Adolescence 39, 414–427 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-009-9495-8

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