The consequences of adolescent sexual behavior is an important topic for researchers, policy makers, politicians, service providers and communities. During the 1990s, teen birth rates declined for the first time in decades. Also during the 1990s, Latinas surpassed African Americans to become the group with the highest rates. Latinos make up an increasing proportion of the U.S. population. Because Latinos are a relatively young group, the proportion of youth who are Latino is growing even more rapidly. Much of the growth of the Latino population is due to high levels of immigration from Latin America, resulting in a high proportion of Latino youth from immigrant families. Thus, a thorough understanding of Latino youth must take into account the experiences of multiple generations of youth, including immigrants, the children of immigrants and higher generation youth. This is especially true when attempting to understand the reasons for adolescent Latino sexual behavior. Each generation of Latino youth faces different challenges in negotiating between their culture of origin and the culture in which they live. We will present 1) a synthesized review of the research literature that addresses how the speed, direction and level of cultural adaptation among Latino adolescents is related to sexual behavior; and 2) highlight the research gaps that need to be addressed to complete our understanding of how the process of adaptation affects this aspect of young Latinos’ lives.
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe issues of acculturation as they pertain to Latino youth. 2. Describe what is known about the relationship between acculturation and Latino adolescent sexual behavior. 3. Describe the gaps in our understanding of how the acculturation process affects Latino adolescent sexual behavior.
Keywords: Adolescent Health, Sexual Behavior
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.