Acculturation-related variables, sexual initiation, and subsequent sexual behavior among Puerto Rican, Mexican, and Cuban youth

Health Psychol. 2005 Jan;24(1):88-95. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.24.1.88.

Abstract

The relationship among acculturation-related variables, past sexual activity, and subsequent sexual behavior was examined for a sample of Latino youth in the United States over a 12-month period. A subsample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health database was analyzed by means of a prospective design. History of sexual intercourse predicted subsequent sexual behavior over the ensuing 12 months. The acculturation-related variables were related to whether an adolescent reported being sexually active at Wave 1 but in a complex fashion. Among recent immigrants, youth from English-speaking homes were less likely to be sexually active than those from Spanish-speaking homes. The opposite was observed for youth who were born in the United States or who had resided in the United States most of their lives.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Acculturation*
  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior / psychology*
  • Cuba / ethnology
  • Emigration and Immigration / statistics & numerical data
  • Family Characteristics / ethnology
  • Female
  • HIV Infections / prevention & control
  • Hispanic or Latino / psychology*
  • Hispanic or Latino / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Language
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Mexican Americans / psychology
  • Mexico / ethnology
  • Prospective Studies
  • Puerto Rico / ethnology
  • Residence Characteristics / statistics & numerical data
  • Risk-Taking
  • Sex Factors
  • Sexual Behavior / psychology*
  • Sexual Behavior / statistics & numerical data
  • United States / epidemiology