Learning Objective #1: Describe the relationship between cultural beliefs and sexual health outcomes among Latino adolescents.

Learning Objective #2: Identify culturally-appropriate strategies to address sexual risk behaviors among Latino adolescents.

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Teenage pregnancy rates for Latino adolescents in North Carolina are three times higher than those of white adolescents, and their risk for sexually transmitted infections is increasing. Migration and separation from parents can be especially critical for Latino adolescents. It has been suggested that weakened family bonds and lack of parental presence increase the vulnerability of Latino youths to sexual risk behaviors.

An ethnographic approach was used to study the meaning of sexual risk from the perspectives of Latino adolescents and their parents in the context of migration. The study found that gender-specific Latino cultural norms clashed with mainstream American norms, confusing adolescents and parents about what were appropriate and inappropriate sexual behaviors. As a result, la fiesta de los quince años, the 15^th birthday celebration, which in Latin America signals the transition from a girl to a woman and gives permission to have a boyfriend, was troubled by mainstream American norms of early dating, sexual exploration, and avoidance of pregnancy. The status of “woman” and the physical maturity of Latinas drew the attention of males in both the school and community, where safeguards had been weakened, placing girls at sexual risk. In particular, machismo, manifested as older men dating young girls, was perceived as both a sexual risk and a way to financial security.

The study suggests that Latino adolescents and their parents could benefit from capacity-building strategies within the school and community. These strategies might include strengthening the safeguards surrounding la fiesta de los quince años, a practice that preserves culture and monitors and supports the development of safe male-female relationships.