Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Predictors of Sexual Activity in Haitian-American Adolescents

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examined the impact of individual, peer, family, school, and neighborhood level variables on sexual activity among 276 Haitian-American adolescents. Differences between those who were sexually active and those who were not were analyzed using Chi square and t tests. Significant factors at p ≤ 0.1 were entered into logistic regression for the full group and for girls-only. Half of males and 36.6 % of females were sexually active. The multivariable model revealed that adolescents were more likely to be sexually active if they reported delinquent behaviors; had sexually active friends; and were living with only one parent, friends or relatives. For girls, living with both parents was protective against sexual activity, while substance use and emotional distress were risk factors. No language or acculturation measures were associated with sexual activity. Haitian-American adolescents may benefit from interventions that focus on gender-specific, contextual and cultural factors to prevent early sexual activity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ogburn, R.: Demographic statistics of southeast Florida. June 2010 [Internet]. http://www.sfrpc.com/Dick’sDemographics/SEFloridaDemogProfileJun10.pdf (2010). Accessed 18 Oct 2010.

  2. Vega WA, Amaro H. Latino outlook: good health, uncertain prognosis. Annu Rev Public Health. 1994;15:39–67.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. O’Donnell L, O’Donnell C, Stueve A. Early sexual initiation and subsequent sex-related risks among urban minority youth: the reach for health study. Fam Plan Perspect. 2001;33(6):268–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Jeltova I, Fish MC, Revenson TA. Risky sexual behaviors in immigrant adolescent girls from the former Soviet Union: role of natal and host culture. J Sch Psychol. 2005;43(1):3–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Armour S, Haynie DL. Adolescent sexual debut and later delinquency. J Youth Adolesc. 2006;36(2):141–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Harden KP, Mendle J, Hill JE, Turkheimer E, Emery RE. Rethinking timing of first sex and delinquency. J Youth Adolesc. 2008;37(4):373–85.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Sandfort TGM, Orr M, Hirsch JS, Santelli J. Long-term health correlates of timing of sexual debut: results from a national US study. Am J Public Health. 2008;98(1):155–61.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Blake SM, Ledsky R, Goodenow C, O’Donnell L. Recency of immigration, substance use, and sexual behavior among Massachusetts adolescents. Am J Public Health. 2001;91(5):794–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Nicolas G, DeSilva A, Prater K, Bronkoski E. Empathic family stress as a sign of family connectedness in Haitian immigrants. Fam Process. 2009;48(1):135–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Dévieux JG, Rosenberg R, Saint-Jean G, Malow RM. The continuing challenge of reducing risk among Haitian youth: The need for intervention. J Int Assoc Physicians AIDS Care. Published online ahead of print. 2013; 2325957411418119.

  11. Carver JW, Dévieux JG, Gaston SC, Altice FL, Niccolai LM. Sexual risk behaviors among adolescents in Port-au-Prince Haiti. AIDS Behav. 2014;18(8):1595–603.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Preventing drug use among children and adolescents, 2nd Ed. Bethesda, MD; 2003 p. 6–17.

  13. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Youth Risk Behavior Survey. [Internet]. www.cdc.gov/yrbs (2011). Accessed 23 Aug 2012.

  14. Li X, Stanton B, Feigelman S. Impact of perceived parental monitoring on adolescent risk behavior over 4 years. J Adolesc Health. 2000;27(1):49–56.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Gardner M, Steinberg L. Peer influence on risk taking, risk preference, and risky decision making in adolescence and adulthood: an experimental study. Dev Psychol. 2005;41(4):625–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Colin JM. Voices of hope: hearing and caring for Haitian adolescents. J Holist Nurs. 2001;19(2):187–211.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. DeSantis L, Thomas JT, Sinnett K. Intergenerational concepts of adolescent sexuality: implications for community-based reproductive health care with Haitian immigrants. Public Health Nurs. 1999;16(2):102–13.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Joseph NP, Clark JA, Bauchner H, Walsh JP, Mercilus G, Figaro J, Bibbo C, Perkins RB. Knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs regarding HPV vaccination: ethnic and cultural differences between African-American and Haitian immigrant women. Womens Health Issues. 2012;22(6):e571–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Dorjgochoo T, Noel F, Deschamps MM, Theodore H, Dupont W, Wright PF, Fitzgerald DW, Vermund SH, Pape JW. Risk factors for HIV infection among Haitian adolescents and young adults seeking counseling and testing in Port-au-Prince. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2009;52(4):498–508.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Marcelin LH, Vivian J, Diclemente R, Shultz J, Page JB. Trends in alcohol, drug and cigarette use among Haitian youth in Miami-Dade County, Florida. J Ethn Subst Abus. 2005;4(1):105–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Gage AJ, Suzuki C. Risk factors for alcohol use among male adolescents and emerging adults in Haiti. J Adolesc. 2006;29(2):241–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Nicolas G, DeSilva AM, Bejarano AM, Desrosiers A. A descriptive evaluation of religiosity among Haitian immigrants: an empirical study. J Haitian Stud. 2007;13(2):60–72.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Taylor RJ, Chatters LM, Mattis JS, Joe S. Religious involvement among Caribbean blacks in the United States. Rev Relig Res. 2010;52(2):125–45.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Bartlett TR, Buck R, Shattel M. Risk and protection for HIV/AIDS in Hispanic, black, and white adolescents. J Natl Black Nurses Assoc. 2008;19(1):19–25.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Dariotis JK, Sifakis F, Pleck JH, Astone NM, Sonenstein FL. Racial and ethnic disparities in sexual risk behaviors and STDs during young men’s transition to adulthood. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2011;43(1):51–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  26. Holschneider SOM, Alexander CS. Social and psychological influences on HIV preventive behaviors of youth in Haiti. J Adolesc Health. 2003;33(1):31–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Stephens DP, Thomas TL. Cultural values influencing immigrant Haitian mothers’ attitudes toward human papillomavirus vaccination for daughters. J Black Psychol. 2013;39(2):156–68.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. The Latino Commission on AIDS: Mobilizing Haitians to Test for HIV in Miami-Dade County: Findings from a Community Assessment. Comunidades Saludables Ahora/Healthy Communities Now, Capacity Building Assistance Program 2012.

  29. Rodriguez AE, Metsch L, Saint-Jean G, Molina E, Kolber M. Differences in HIV-related hospitalization trends between Haitians and US-born blacks. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2007;45(5):529–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Saint-Jean G, Metsch L, Gomez-Marin O, Pierre C, Jeanty Y, Rodriguez A, Malow R. Use of HIV primary care by HIV-positive Haitian immigrants in Miami, Florida. AIDS Care. 2011;23(4):486–93.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Saint-Jean G, Dévieux J, Malow R, Tammara H, Carney K. Substance abuse, acculturation, and HIV risk among Caribbean-born immigrants in the United States. J Int Assoc Physicians AIDS Care. 2011;10(5):326–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Schwartz B, Bernal D, Smith L, Nicolas G. Pathways to understand help-seeking behaviors among Haitians. J Immigr Minor Health. 2014;16(2):239–43.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Friedman A, Utada A. A method for diagnosing and planning the treatment of adolescent drug abusers: the adolescent drug abuse diagnosis (ADAD) instrument. J Drug Educ. 1989;19(4):285–312.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Bearman P, Jones J, Udry J. National longitudinal study of adolescent health. Res Des. 1997.

  35. Rahdert E, editor. The adolescent assessment/referral system: manual. Washington, DC: DHHS Pub. No. (ADM) 91-1735. pt. Supt Of Docs., US Gov. Printing Office.; 1991.

  36. St Lawrence J, Brasfield T, Jefferson K, Alleyne E, O’Bannon R, Shirley A. Cognitive-behavioral intervention to reduce African American adolescents’ risk for HIV infection. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1995;63(2):221–37.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Stephenson M. Development and validation of the Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale (SMAS). Psychol Assess. 2000;12(1):77–88.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Catania JA, Coates TJ, Kegeles S. A test of the AIDS risk reduction model: psychosocial correlates of condom use in the AMEN cohort survey. Health Psychol. 1994;13(6):548–55.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Lerand SJ, Ireland M, Blum RW. Individual and environmental impacts on sexual health of Caribbean youth. Sci World J. 2006;6:707–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Fawzi MCS, Betancourt TS, Marcelin L, Klopner M, Munir K, Muriel AC, Oswald C, Mukherjee JS. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder among Haitian immigrant students: implications for access to mental health services and educational programming. BMC Public Health. 2009;9:482.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. McMahon RC, Bryant VE, Dévieux JG, Jean-Gilles M, Rosenberg R, Malow RM. Haitian adolescent personality clusters and their problem area correlates. J Immigr Minor Health. 2013;15(2):448–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Young MA, Vazsonyi AT. Research and theory on human development parents, peers, and risky sexual behaviors in rural African American adolescents. J Genet Psychol. 2011;172(1):84–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Bazargan M, Stein JA, Bazargan-Hejazi S, Hindman DW. Using the information-motivation behavioral model to predict sexual behavior among underserved minority youth. J Sch Health. 2010;80(6):287–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Ybrandt H. Risky alcohol use, peer and family relationships and legal involvement in adolescents with antisocial problems. J Drug Educ. 2010;40(3):245–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Kelly AB, O’Flaherty M, Toumbourou JW, Homel R, Patton GC, White A, et al. The influence of families on early adolescent school connectedness: evidence that this association varies with adolescent involvement in peer drinking networks. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2012;40(3):437–47.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  46. Jayakody A, Sinha S, Tyler K, Khadr SN, Clark C, Klineberg E, et al. Early sexual risk among black and minority ethnicity adolescentagers: a mixed methods study. J Adolesc Health. 2011;48(5):499–506.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Gillmore MR, Chen AC-C, Haas SA, Kopak AM, Robillard AG. Do family and parenting factors in adolescence influence condom use in early adulthood in a multiethnic sample of young adults? J Youth Adolesc. 2011;40(11):1503–18.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Chartier KG, Hesselbrock MN, Hesselbrock VM. Alcohol problems in young adults transitioning from adolescence to adulthood: the association with race and gender. Addict Behav. 2011;36(3):167–74.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  49. Ramírez García JI, Manongdo JA, Cruz-Santiago M. The family as mediator of the impact of parent–youth acculturation/enculturation and inner-city stressors on Mexican American youth substance use. Cultur Divers Ethn Minor Psychol. 2010;16(3):404–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Moore GF, Rothwell H, Segrott J. An exploratory study of the relationship between parental attitudes and behaviour and young people’s consumption of alcohol. Subst Abuse Treat Prev Policy. 2010;5(6):1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Kapungu C, Baptiste D, Holmbeck G, McBride C, Robinson-Brown M, Sturdivant A, et al. Beyond the ‘birds and the bees’: gender. Fam Process. 2010;49(2):251–64.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Donenberg GR, Emerson E, Mackesy-Amiti ME. Sexual risk among African American girls: psychopathology and mother–daughter relationships. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2011;79(2):153–8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  53. Spence NJ, Brewster KL. Adolescents’ sexual initiation: the interaction of race/ethnicity and immigrant status. Popul Res Policy Rev. 2010;29(3):339–62.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  54. Vega WA, Gil AG, Zimmerman RS. Patterns of drug use among Cuban-American, African-American, and white non-Hispanic boys. Am J Public Health. 1993;83(2):257–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Weiss UK, Tillman KH. Risky sexual behaviors among Hispanic young adults in south Florida: nativity, age at immigration and gender differences. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2009;41(4):202–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Aldridge-Gerry AA, Roesch SC, Villodas F, McCabe C, Leung QK, Da Costa M. Daily stress and alcohol consumption: modeling between-person and within-person ethnic variation in coping behavior. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2011;72(1):125–34.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  57. Prado G, Pantin H, Huang S, Cordova D, Tapia MI, Velazquez MR, Calfee M, Malcolm S, Arzon M, Villamar J, Jimenez GL, Cano N, Brown CH, Estrada Y. Effects of a family intervention in reducing HIV risk behaviors among high-risk Hispanic adolescents: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012;166(2):127–33.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  58. Desrosiers A, St Fleurose S. Treating Haitian patients: key cultural aspects. Am J Psychother. 2002;56(4):508–21.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  59. Shih R, Miles J, Tucker J, Zhou A, D’Amico E. Racial/ethnic differences in adolescent substance use: mediation by individual, family and school factors. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2010;71(5):640–51.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  60. Hirschfield PJ, Gasper J. The relationship between school engagement and delinquency in late childhood and early adolescence. J Youth Adolesc. 2011;40(1):3–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  61. Maharaj RG, Nunes P, Renwick S. Health risk behaviours among adolescents in the English-speaking Caribbean: a review. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2009;3(1):10.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  62. Guilamo-Ramos V, Bouris A, Jaccard J, Gonzalez B, McCoy W, Aranda D. A parent-based intervention to reduce sexual risk behavior in early adolescence: building alliances between physicians, social workers, and parents. J Adolesc Health. 2011;48(2):159–63.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  63. O’Donnell L, Myint-U A, Duran R, Stueve A. Especially for daughters: parent education to address alcohol and sex-related risk taking among urban young adolescent girls. Health Promot Pract. 2010;11(3 Suppl):70S–8S.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by grant 5 R01 HD38458 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Conflict of interest

No authors on this manuscript report any conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Florida International University, Biscayne Bay Campus, 3000 NE 151 Street-ACI #260, Miami, FL, 33181, USA

    Jessy G. Dévieux, Michèle Jean-Gilles, Jennifer Attonito, Anshul Saxena & Rhonda Rosenberg

  2. Temple University, 1301 Cecil B. Moore Avenue Ritter Annex, 9th Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA

    Anne Frankel

Authors
  1. Jessy G. Dévieux
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michèle Jean-Gilles
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anne Frankel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jennifer Attonito
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Anshul Saxena
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Rhonda Rosenberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jessy G. Dévieux.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dévieux, J.G., Jean-Gilles, M., Frankel, A. et al. Predictors of Sexual Activity in Haitian-American Adolescents. J Immigrant Minority Health 18, 161–172 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0148-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0148-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation