Suicide Attempts among Latinas who Experienced Early Sex Were Largely Mediated by Substance Abuse

The purpose of this study was to describe the role of substance abuse as a mediating factor between early sexual experiences and suicide attempts among adult Latinas. In our study participants (n=158), nearly 15% had attempted suicide and 39% experienced their first sexual encounter at an age of 15 or younger (referred to hereafter as “early sex”). Latinas who experienced early sex were more likely to attempt suicide [OR=2.4, p\u3c0.05], and this relationship was largely mediated by substance abuse. An early sexual debut may indicate an environmental adversity on the child that calls for long term intervention for prevention of substance abuse as well as promotion of psychological well-being later in life

Intergenerational associations between a consensual childhood sexual experience and adult substance abuse among Latina mothers and daughters

Purpose: Early onset of sexual activity has been linked to later substance abuse. Our study aimed to further describe the associations between Latina mothers’ and daughters’ early sexual activity and adult substance abuse. Methods: A survey was conducted with 92 Latina mother–daughter dyads whose members never experienced sexual abuse. Childhood sexual experience was defined as the occurrence of a consensual sexual encounter at the age of 15 years or younger. Substance abusers were identified by the extent of substance use during the 12 months prior to the interview. Path analysis was used to fit our conceptual models to the data. Main findings: Daughters’ current, adult substance abuse was associated independently with: their own childhood sexual experience (odds ratio [OR] = 6.0) and mothers’ current, adult substance abuse (OR = 2.0). Compared with daughters who first experienced sex after the age of 19, the odds of using substances were 17.7 times higher among daughters who had childhood sexual experience and 3.8 times higher among daughters who first experienced sex between the age of 16–19 years. Explicitly, sexual experiences between the ages of 16–19 years were also risk factors for later adult substance abuse. Mothers’ childhood sexual experience (OR = 7.3) was a strong predictor for daughters’ childhood sexual experience. Conclusions: Our study supported a link between mother and daughter childhood sexual experience among Latinas, and indicated it is a correlate of adult substance abuse. Family based substance abuse prevention efforts and future longitudinal studies should consider maternal childhood sexual experience as a potential indication of risk for Latina daughters

A Brief Report: Lessons Learned and Preliminary Findings of Progreso en Salud, an HIV Risk Reduction Intervention for Latina Seasonal Farmworkers

Throughout the past decade, HIV rates in Florida?particularly South Florida, where many Latina seasonal farmworkers reside and work?have ranked among the highest in the nation. In this brief report, we delineate important lessons learned and preliminary findings from the implementation of the HIV prevention intervention Progreso en Salud (Progress in Health). Among the 114 Latina seasonal farmworker participants, there were significant increases from baseline to 6-month follow-up in the percentages of overall condom use, HIV testing, HIV/AIDS-related communications with friends, HIV knowledge, condom use self-efficacy, and correct use of condoms. Lessons learned from this study can be used to inform future HIV intervention strategies to improve the adoption and maintenance of HIV risk reduction behaviors among high-risk Latina seasonal workers and other high-risk underserved populations. Future research is needed to support our findings

Sociocultural Determinants of Risky Sexual Behaviors among Adult Latinas: A Longitudinal Study of a Community-Based Sample

Few studies have examined the sociocultural determinants of risky sexual behavior trajectories among adult Latinas. To longitudinally examine the link between sociocultural determinants of risky sexual behaviors, we followed a sample of adult Latina mother-daughter dyads (n = 267) across a 10-year span through four waves of data collection. The present study investigates how risky sexual behavior (operationalized as sex under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, sex without a condom, or multiple sex partners) is affected by: (a) socioeconomic conditions; (b) mental health; (c) medical health; (d) acculturation to U.S. culture; (e) interpersonal support; (f) relationship stress; (g) mother-daughter attachment; (h) intimate partner violence; (i) religious involvement; and (j) criminal justice involvement. Results indicate the following factors are negatively associated with risky sexual behavior: drug and alcohol use, treating a physical problem with prescription drugs, religious involvement, and mother?daughter attachment. The following factors are positively associated with risky sexual behavior: higher number of mental health symptoms, being U.S.-born, and criminal justice involvement. We discuss implications for the future development of culturally relevant interventions based on the study findings

Substance use and sexual risk behaviors among adolescent detainees

There is a commonly presumed link among sexual risk behavior, substance use, and other psychosocial factors among adolescents. However, these relationships have been relatively understudied in detained, low-income, minority, substance abusing adolescents. This study addresses this gap in the literature with a secondary data analysis based on a sample of adolescent offenders in two detention and treatment centers in Miami-Dade County. Univariate, bivariate statistical analysis and multivariate logistic regressions were conducted on baseline data from structured interviews with 455 adolescents participating in an NIH funded prevention intervention. Data were analyzed to assess relationships among self-reported substance use, STD history, HIV/AIDS knowledge, condom use, condom use attitudes, and skills, peer and parental approval to use condoms, and race/ethnicity. The adolescent sample was 74.1% male, and 25.9% female and 35.4% African American, 25.1% non-African American Latino, 11.2% White, and 28.4% of other race/ethnicity categories. The mean age was 15.6 years. Results suggested that alcohol use (p \u3c 0.001) and use of marijuana, cocaine and other drugs (p \u3c 0.001) are significant variables when explaining the variability in sexual risk behaviors. Results also suggested that unprotected vaginal, anal, and oral sex increased with higher alcohol and drug use (p \u3c 0.001) and that positive attitudes about personally using condoms (p \u3c 0.001) were also significantly related to condom use. Logistic regressions showed that race/ethnicity was a significant control variable when explaining the variability of condom use. Being White and Latino were significantly associated with less condom use during oral and anal sex when compared to other racial/ethnic groups. These results indicated that risky sexual behavior and HIV infection risk are significantly associated with substance use, particularly alcohol use. Therefore, proper screening and identification of alcohol use, and condom use attitudes could maximize the efficacy of referrals to programs targeting both issues and increase the potential for appropriate primary and secondary prevention and treatment among adolescent detainees

Intergenerational associations between a consensual childhood sexual experience and adult substance abuse among Latina mothers and daughters

Patria Rojas2,3, Sunny Kim4, Mario De La Rosa2,3, Frank R Dillon2,3, Theophile Niyonsenga1,31Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, 2School of Social Work, 3Center for Research on US Latinos HIV/AIDs and Drug Abuse, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA; 4Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Davis, CA, USAPurpose: Early onset of sexual activity has been linked to later substance abuse. Our study aimed to further describe the associations between Latina mothers’ and daughters’ early sexual activity and adult substance abuse.Methods: A survey was conducted with 92 Latina mother–daughter dyads whose members never experienced sexual abuse. Childhood sexual experience was defined as the occurrence of a consensual sexual encounter at the age of 15 years or younger. Substance abusers were identified by the extent of substance use during the 12 months prior to the interview. Path analysis was used to fit our conceptual models to the data.Main findings: Daughters’ current, adult substance abuse was associated independently with: their own childhood sexual experience (odds ratio [OR] = 6.0) and mothers’ current, adult substance abuse (OR = 2.0). Compared with daughters who first experienced sex after the age of 19, the odds of using substances were 17.7 times higher among daughters who had childhood sexual experience and 3.8 times higher among daughters who first experienced sex between the age of 16–19 years. Explicitly, sexual experiences between the ages of 16–19 years were also risk factors for later adult substance abuse. Mothers’ childhood sexual experience (OR = 7.3) was a strong predictor for daughters’ childhood sexual experience.Conclusions: Our study supported a link between mother and daughter childhood sexual experience among Latinas, and indicated it is a correlate of adult substance abuse. Family based substance abuse prevention efforts and future longitudinal studies should consider maternal childhood sexual experience as a potential indication of risk for Latina daughters.Keywords: early sex, child sex, Latina, substance abus

Attributions About Addiction Among Latina Women

This cross-sectional, secondary analysis study utilizes data from a prior study of intergenerational substance use among Latina women (n = 316). We explored the influence of substance use frequency and type, as well as cultural and socioeconomic factors on attributions about addiction among a predominantly immigrant sample of Latina women. Women who were less proficient in English (an indicator of adoption of the receiving culture in the acculturation process) and more proficient in Spanish (an indicator of heritage-culture retention) endorsed more spiritual model attributions than women who were more proficient in English and less proficient in Spanish. Women who were more proficient in Spanish more frequently endorsed the disease attribution model. Alcohol, marijuana use, and nonmedical sedative use were linked with spiritual, moral character, and disease attribution models, respectively. Participants reporting higher education levels indicated less agreement with the moral/character model of addiction. Implications for culturally tailored social work interventions for Latina women are discussed

Latina Mother–Daughter Dyads: Relations Between Attachment and Sexual Behavior Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs

Associations among mother-daughter attachment, mother and daughter substance abuse, and daughter’s sexual behavior under the influence of drugs and alcohol were investigated among 158 adult U.S. Latina daughters. Latina daughters were sampled from four mother–daughter dyad types: substance abusing mother and daughter, substance abusing mother only, substance abusing daughter only, and nonsubstance-abusing mother and daughter. Substance abusing daughters with substance abusing mothers, and daughters who were less strongly attached to their mothers, reported more sex under the influence of drugs. Age, marital status, substance abuse, and mother’s substance abuse all influenced the daughter’s sex under the influence of alcohol. An unexpected positive association between attachment and sex under the influence of alcohol was found for daughters who were more closely attached to a substance abusing mother. Implications for future research, and HIV/AIDS and drug prevention and treatment programs for Latinas are discussed