PEDIATRICS Vol. 85 No. 6 June 1990, pp. 1051-1058
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Sexual Behavior Among Hispanic Female Adolescents in the United States

Robert H. DuRant PhD1, Robert Pendergrast MD, MPH1, and Carolyn Seymore MD1

1 From the Section of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia

The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with sexual activity in a national representative sample of Hispanic female adolescents. The subjects included all (n = 202) 15-to 19-year-old Hispanic female adolescents from the 1982 National Survey of Family Growth subdivided into Mexican-American (n = 119), Puerto Rican (n = 34), Central/South American (n = 23), Cuban (n = 9), and other Hispanic (n = 17) background groups. A total of 42% of the young women were sexually active. More Cubans (69.0%) and Central/South Americans (55.6%) reported sexual activity than the other groups, but the differences were not statistically significant. With multiple regression analysis, a significant amount of variation (total R2 = 0.367, P le .001) in sexual activity was explained by the following variables: not being in school (22.5%), no religious affiliation (4.4%), age (3.3%), less church attendance (3.0%), older age at menarche (1.9%), and not living with both parents at age 14 years (1.9%). These findings suggest that maintaming social continuity in the areas of school, church affiliation and involvement, and family structure, as well as physical maturity are associated with Hispanic adolescent girls not becoming sexually active.

Key Words: Hispanic female adolescents • sexual behavior • church involvement • education • social continuity

Submitted on May 22, 1989
Accepted on July 14, 1989




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