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Sense of Personal Control Influences Latinas' Decisions about Sexual Debut |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: A sense of personal control over sexual behaviors strongly influences Latina women's decisions of when to first engage in sex, report researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. This suggests that Latina women's own beliefs regarding timing of first sexual intercourse may outweigh the influence of family, friends, and partners. The study also revealed a high correlation between a young Latina's decision about when to first initiate sexual activity and her family's expectations. "Both personal control and family expectations had a very important role in delaying early initiation of sex," said study author Melissa Gilliam, MD, MPH, section chief of Family Planning at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Gilliam and colleagues conducted seven focus groups to determine survey questions most relevant to the culture and experience of the young Latina population. The age at the time of sexual initiation ranged from 12 to 24 with 16.15 years as the mean. The study also found a strong correlation with the young woman's mother's age at first pregnancy and the age of the young woman's first sexual partner. Statistics from previous studies show that compared to African-American and white adolescents, the Latina population has higher rates of teen pregnancy despite lower rates of sexual activity, and they are less likely to use contraception the first time they have sex. Many times researchers presuppose the questions that should be asked and design questionnaires based on those suppositions, said Gilliam, whose work identifies populations most at risk for unintended pregnancy and ways to improve education.
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