Boyfriends, girlfriends and teenagers' risk of sexual involvement.

CONTEXT: Having a boyfriend or girlfriend, especially an older one, is associated with increased sexual risk in early adolescence. The mechanisms underlying this association are unclear. METHODS: Middle school students in Northern California were surveyed annually from 1997 to 2000. For a sample of 1,214 males and 1,308 females who were sexually inexperienced in seventh grade, logistic and linear regression were used to explore associations between relationship status in seventh grade and sexual activity in ninth grade, controlling for sixth-grade and eighth-grade characteristics. RESULTS: Males who had had a girlfriend their age by seventh grade were more likely than those who had had no relationship to report sexual activity in ninth grade (odds ratio, 2.1). Similarly, for females, the odds of being sexually active in ninth grade were elevated among those who had had a boyfriend their age (2.9); however, they also were higher among those who had had an older boyfriend than among those who had had one their age (2.1). With sixth-grade risk factors controlled, relationship status in seventh grade remained significant only for females; the association was explained by early menarche and by participation in situations that could lead to sex and riskier peer norms in eighth grade. For males, eighth-grade situations that could lead to sex, Hispanic ethnicity and sixth-grade peer norms explained ninth-grade sexual behavior. CONCLUSIONS: To reduce the risk of adolescent sexual activity, parents and communities should encourage youth in middle school, especially females who experience early menarche, to delay serious romantic relationships.

Emotional distress, alcohol use, and peer violence among Mexican-American and European-American adolescents.

PURPOSE: To examine the longitudinal relations among emotional distress, alcohol use, and peer-directed violence. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 297 young adolescents, randomly selected from the membership lists of a large health maintenance organization. Participants were aged 12-15 years, 55% were male, and were either Mexican-American (n = 147) or European-American (n = 150). Adolescents reported on their emotional distress at baseline, and on their alcohol use at 6-month follow-up. At 12-month follow-up, they reported on their involvement in peer violence, including physical fights and weapons exposure. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Boys reported being in more physical fights than girls. Mexican-Americans reported more weapons exposure than European-Americans, but when controlling for socioeconomic status and age, these differences disappeared. For both ethnic groups, adolescents who experienced greater emotional distress later reported more alcohol use and more involvement in peer violence. For Mexican-American adolescents, alcohol use mediated the relations between emotional distress and both physical fights and weapons exposure. For European-Americans, alcohol use mediated the relations between emotional distress and physical fights, but only marginally mediated the relation between emotional distress and weapons exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents who experience greater emotional distress are at heightened risk for using alcohol and, in turn, for becoming involved in peer violence. Mexican-American adolescents in particular may use alcohol as a means of coping with emotional distress, and alcohol use appears to facilitate involvement in peer violence.

Marital conflict and acculturation among Mexican American husbands and wives.

This study examined the relationship between acculturation and multiple dimensions of marital conflict among Mexican American husbands and wives. Participants were 151 husbands and wives who were recruited from a health maintenance organization in northern California and individually interviewed. More acculturated husbands and wives engaged in less avoidance of conflict and were more expressive of their feelings in an argument. Husbands who were more acculturated reported more conflict concerning sex and consideration for the other. Bicultural and more acculturated husbands reported that their wives were more verbally and physically aggressive, compared with mono-Mexican husbands. The findings provide evidence that more acculturated husbands and wives are involved in more direct expressions of conflict in their marriages, compared with less acculturated husbands and wives.

HIV prevention in the Hispanic community: sex, culture, and empowerment.

To address the serious HIV epidemic in the Hispanic community in the United States, the underlying causes of the epidemic must be addressed. Marginalization, including homophobia, poverty, and racism, as well as cultural factors such as machismo and sexual silence disempower people, making HIV prevention difficult. This article reviews evidence for the impact of marginalization and cultural factors on HIV risk and proposes a cycle of disempowerment. Three examples of empowerment interventions developed specifically for Hispanics (targeting heterosexuals, women, and gay men) are presented, and how these interventions address disempowerment is discussed. One intervention is used to illustrate principles of developing culturally appropriate interventions.

Collaborative HIV Prevention Research in Minority Communities Program: a model for developing investigators of color.

The Collaborative HIV Prevention Research in Minority Communities Program was developed to address the simultaneous overrepresentation of communities of color among those with HIV and under-representation of researchers of color at the National Institutes of Health. The program is designed to help scientists develop their programs of research and obtain significant research funding. The 27-month program has the following elements: small grant funding, a structured summer program, individualized long-term research collaboration, access to behavioral science expertise, and internal peer review of all products. To date, the 19 program participants, eight of whom have not completed the program, have received almost $11,000,000 in research funding and have conducted culturally specific research with communities of color. In addition, a network of HIV prevention investigators of color has been created. Institutes throughout the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other entities could use this model to develop investigators of color, improve the quality of research with communities of color, and begin to address health disparities.

Interparental conflict and risk behaviors among Mexican American adolescents: a cognitive-emotional model.

This study used a cognitive-emotional model to examine the relations between multiple dimensions of interparental conflict and health risk behaviors among young adolescents. Participants were 151 Mexican American adolescents and their parents. At initial individual interviews, parents reported on conflict with their spouses, and adolescents reported on their parents' conflict, their appraisals of the conflict, their emotional distress, and their acculturation level. At 6-month follow-ups, adolescents reported on their risk behaviors, including substance use and sexual activity. In general, adolescents' acculturation level was not related to their risk behaviors. More frequent conflict, more conflict about the adolescent, more adolescent involvement in the conflict, and poor conflict resolution were related to greater emotional distress. More conflict about the adolescent, mothers being more demanding/dominating during conflict, and more adolescent involvement in the conflict were related to greater risk behaviors. Adolescents' cognitions mediated the link between two dimensions of parental conflict, frequency and resolution, and emotional distress. Adolescents' emotional distress mediated the association between adolescent involvement in parental conflict and adolescents' risk behaviors.

Latina adolescents: predicting intentions to have sex.

This study utilized the theory of reasoned action to examine how Latina adolescents' intentions to have sex in the coming month were influenced by their general attitude toward having sex and their perceptions of general social norms about having sex. Eighty-four Mexican American and Central American adolescent females ages 14 to 19 participated in telephone interviews. One group of 41 Mexican American adolescents was obtained through a telephone survey and the second group of 43 pregnant or parenting Mexican American and Central American adolescents was recruited from health clinics. Path analysis conducted separately for the two groups indicated that, for the clinic group, perceptions of general social norms, but not general attitude, predicted intentions to have sex; and for the survey group, whether they were sexually active directly predicted perceptions of general social norms and intention to have sex. Adolescents' perceptions of what significant others desired of them, but not their motivation to comply, predicted perceptions of general social norms about having sex. Results underscore the importance of social norms for Latina adolescents when they are considering whether or not to have sex.