Sexual Health in Latino Adolescents Presentation By: Alejandra Gudiño and Kim Allen

1. Sexual Health in Latino AdolescentsPresentation By:Alejandra Gudiño and Kim Allen Center for Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy and Parenting Human Development and Family Studies

2. Center for Adolescents Sexuality, Pregnancy and Parenting. The Mission of CASPP is to : Bring together a Multi-disciplinary Team of Professionals and Laypersons to Collaborate to provide Educational Programs and Conduct Applied Research to better understand how to Prevent and Eliminate the Negative Effects of High Risk Sexual Behaviors and Early Childbearing.

3. Programs We Implement • Missouri Volunteer Resource Mothers; • Maltreatment and Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting Program; • Adolescent Mother Journaling Program; • Making Proud Choices; • Connecting for Baby; • Connecting for Children.

4. Funding • MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE); • MO Department of Social Services (DSS); • US Department of Health and Human Services

5. Today’s Goals • Present information on the need for addressing sexual health with Latino youth • Demonstrate the need to recognize Latin parent’s strengths and values • Assist service providers in offering culturally grounded programs that include parents to help shape a consistent message for youth.

6. Why Latino Youth • Half (51%) Latino teens get pregnant al least once before their 20th birthday. • Latino adolescent population grew 42% between 1990-2002 • IN the next 20 years Latino teen population will growth much more quickly than the overall teen population in the U.S.

7. Why Latino Youth • Is projected to increase by another 50% by 2025 • At that point Latinos will compromise 24% of the US teenage population

8. Teen Pregnancy Rates by Race/Ethnicity, 1980-2006 Rate(Pregnancies per 1,000 girls aged 15-19)

9. Adolescence

12. Adolescent • Awkward period between sexual maturational and the attainment of adult roles and responsibilities; • Begins with the domain of physical/biological changes related to puberty, but it ends in the domain of social roles; • Encompasses the transition from the status of a child (one who requires monitoring) to that of an adult. (responsible for behavior)

13. Adolescence Puberty Romantic Motivation Sexual Interest Emotional Intensity Sleep Cycle Changes Appetite Risk for Affective Disorders (girls) Increase in risk seeking, and novelty seeking Age/Experience Planning Logic, Reading Inhibitory Control Problem Solving Understanding Consequences Affect regulation Goal Setting and pursuit Judgment and abstract thinking Making Proud Choices

15. Teaching the Adolescence Brain • A young adolescent brain can hold seven items of information, plus or minus two items, in working memory; • The addition of emotion can help students remember; • The brain is social and requires interaction in order to develop properly; • Practice/rehearsal is critical to learning for the long term. Making Proud Choices

16. Teaching the Adolescence Brain • We take in more information visually than through any other sense. Making Proud Choices

17. Decision making and Latino Parents’ Role • There is only one way for a teen to avoid pregnancy: abstain from sex • The next best way to avoid pregnancy is to use contraception • Both options are difficult for youth and both required: motivation & accurate information

18. Parents and teens agree: When it comes to talking about sex, parents often don’t know what to say, how to say it, or when to start Source: (5)Voices Heard 2007

19. Some of the latest reports on Latino pregnancy prevention affirm this idea: • 94% of Latino teens think it is important to be given a strong message that they should not have sex until they are at least out of high school • 74% of sexually experienced Latina girls and 62% of Latino boys wish they had waited longer to have sex. • 70% of Latino teens want more information about both abstinence and contraception.

20. Latino Parents Have Many Strengths. Can parenting intervention influence adolescent behavior? • Connection, closeness, and trust: High levels of parents’ connectedness are associated with delayed sexual initiation. • Communication: Specific communication about sexual activity is more effective than general communication. While Latin parents appreciate the need for open communication, they find engaging in these conversation difficult.

21. Latino Parents Have Many Strengths. Can parenting intervention influence adolescent behavior? • Control and discipline: The presence and enforcement of dating rules may delay onset of sexual intercourse. Parental control may be related to more positive outcomes. • Monitoring: Age-appropriate parental monitoring of adolescents’ whereabouts protects against intention or actual sexually risky behaviors. • Traditional Latino family values:Familismo has been associated with decreased influence of peers on risk-taking behaviors. (10)

22. Five Protective Factors Department of Health and Human Services, 2009 • Nurturing and attachment: Building a close bond helps parents better understand, respond to, and communicate with their children. • Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development: Knowing what to look for at each age and how to help their children reach their full potential is important. • Parental resilience: Recognizing signs of stress and enhancing problem-solving skills have better support in times of need. • Social connections: Parents with an extensive network of family, friends, and neighbors have better support in times of need. • Concrete support to parents: Access to resources and services that help families meet their needs.

23. Wrapping up Family Matters… So what does that mean for professionals working with Latino youth? : It means that Latino adolescents will benefit greatly from programs that acknowledge and build on the strengths of Latino families.