Sexuality Education Among Latinas: Experiences, Preferences, Attitudes and Risk Behavior

ABSTRACT

This study investigated sexuality topics discussed by parents, sources of sexuality education, sexual risk behaviors, and attitudes about who should educate children about sexuality among a sample of 204 adult Latinas. Nearly half of sexually active women (having ever had sex) reported condom use and 36.7% reported discussing sexual history with new sexual partners. Self-discovery, friends and media were the most commonly reported sources of sexuality education. Almost 60% of participants thought that both parents and teachers should be responsible for their children's sexuality education. Lower education and lower acculturation were related to reporting peers and media as primary sources of sexuality education. Participants whose parents discussed at least one sexuality related topic with them reported higher frequency of condom use.

KEYWORDS:

• Latina
• Hispanic
• acculturation
• sexuality education
• risk behaviors
• behavior
• condom use
• parent-child communication
• sex and sexuality