Sexual Values and Risky Sexual Behaviors Among Latino Youths

The authors introduced the current study by noting that while understanding the sexual values of Latino youths is vital to informing efforts to prevent HIV transmission, few studies have explored associations between culturally based sexual values and behaviors in this population.

In San Francisco from 2003 to 2006, 839 sexually active Latinos ages 16-22 were interviewed. To examine associations between sexual values and behaviors, multiple regression and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted, while adjusting for language (as a proxy for acculturation) and other covariates.

The importance attached to female virginity was found to be negatively associated with females' number of sexual partners in their lifetime (odds ratio, 0.8) and in the past year (0.9); it was positively associated with women's nonuse of condoms, rather than consistent use, during the first month of their current relationships (1.8).

For males, the importance of satisfying sexual needs increased with the numbers of lifetime and recent sex partners, and with inconsistent condom use during the first month of their relationships (1.4, 1.1 and 1.9, respectively). Being comfortable with sexual communication was positively associated with inconsistent use or nonuse of condoms in the last month of both men's and women's current relationships (2.0-2.2). Among female participants, considering satisfaction of sexual needs to be important was associated with more sex partners only for those who attached little value to female virginity.

"It is important to integrate themes of virginity and sexual desire into intervention curricula so youth can better understand how these sexual norms influence their developing sexual identities and behaviors," the authors concluded.


The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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