Acculturation, Gender Role Orientation, and Reproductive Risk-Taking Behavior among Latina Adolescent Family Planning Clients

• Published in: Journal of adolescent research Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 103 - 121
• Main Authors: Kaplan, Celia P., Erickson, Pamela I., Juarez-Reyes, María
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 01.03.2002; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Acculturation; Adolescents; Birth Rate; Cultural Background; Cultural Influences; Drug Use; Family Planning; Females; Girls; Hispanic Americans; Interviews; Language Attitudes; Language Dominance; Latin American Cultural Groups; Latin Americans; Latinas; Los Angeles, California; Pregnancy; Reproduction (Biology); Risk; Risk assessment; Risk Management; Risk Taking Behavior; Sex Role Orientations; Sex roles; Sexual Behavior; Sexual Intercourse; Sexual Orientation; Sexuality; Sociocultural Patterns; Teenagers; United States (West Coast)
• ISSN: 0743-5584; 1552-6895
• DOI: 10.1177/0743558402172001

This article explores the influence of demographic, sociocultural, and risk proneness indicators on age at first intercourse, number of lifetime sexual partners, and number of pregnancies in a sample of 670 Latina adolescents age 14-19 recruited from two publicly funded familyplanning clinics. Acculturation accounted for a small but statisticallysignificant amount of the variation explained for all three reproductive behaviors. Being less acculturated was associated with older age at initiation of sexual intercourse, fewer lifetime sexual partners, and fewer pregnancies. Substance experimentation was associated with earlier sexual debut and more sexual partners but with fewer pregnancies. Gender role orientation was significant onlyfor age at first intercourse. More traditional young women were older at sexual debut. These results suggest that gender role orientation is important for delaying first intercourse, but once sexually active, acculturation and substance experimentation become more important influences on sexual risk taking among Latina adolescents.