Within Group Differences in the Timing of First Sex among Hispanic Adolescents: The Role of Acculturation and Neighborhood Social Environments

Michelle M. Doty, Commonwealth Fund
Dawn Upchurch, University of California, Los Angeles

This paper explores the timing of first sex among Mexican American, Central and South American, and Puerto Rican adolescent girls and boys using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Using a multilevel random intercept hazard model, we find that the timing of first sexual intercourse varies among Hispanic populations. Compared with Puerto Ricans, the hazard of first sex is lower for Mexican, Central and South American, and Cuban adolescents. Acculturation and neighborhood environments, in particular the proportion of Hispanics in a neighborhood, explain most of the subgroup variation in the timing of first sex. Findings from this study suggest that cultural protective factors may exist in neighborhoods with high concentrations of Hispanics that attenuate the risk of early sex associated with structural deficits such as low socioeconomic status.