"Know your worth and play it safe:" messages to daughters from Mexican-origin mothers in conversations about dating and romantic relationships.

This study aims to enhance understanding of mother-daughter communication about dating and romantic relationships. We explored how Mexican-origin, mostly immigrant mothers talked about these topics with their daughters (ages 13 to 16 years) using videotaped observational methods. Themes drawn from the maternal messages contained in the conversations of 132 mother-daughter dyads show that mothers promote positive decision-making among their daughters, advising them to take their time, choose partners wisely, insist on respect from boys, maintain autonomy in relationships, pursue education goals, and develop a sense of self-worth. Mothers expressed concern about their daughters being pressured or manipulated into having unwanted sex, which led to messages about negative partner dynamics predominating in conversations. Communication about risks, however, included only implicit advice about self-protective behaviours and few messages about the potential for dating violence and abuse. We discuss the implications for improving the design of sexual health communication programmes in which mothers and daughters jointly participate.

Everyday Disputes and Negotiations: A Video Observational Analysis of Mexican-origin Mother-Daughter Conversations.

Little is known about the nature of normative mother-daughter everyday disagreements in Mexican family contexts in which daughters are socialized to avoid conflict out of respect and deference to authority. Observations of videotaped conversations of 130 Mexican-origin mothers and their adolescent (13- to 16-year-old) daughters discussing their disagreements were systematically coded. Analyses of the conversations showed that the most frequently recurring conflicts involved autonomy privileges (appearance, friendships, going out, media use), household responsibilities (chores, sibling caretaking), and family dynamics (sibling tensions, sibling differential treatment, mutual respect in communication). Daughters from traditional immigrant families who had lived longer in Mexico were just as assertive in expressing their viewpoints as daughters from less traditional families, although they were less likely to display negative affect.

Latina daughters' childbearing attitudes: the role of maternal expectations and education communication.

Adolescent girls' and their mothers' expectations for their daughters' college attainment, mother-daughter communication about education, and daughters' early childbearing attitudes were examined in 146 U.S.-raised Latina girls (mean age = 14.4 years) and their mostly immigrant mothers. Through structural equation modeling, we tested in the present study a 3-path mediating model to identify mechanisms underlying the association between maternal expectations and daughters' childbearing attitudes. There was evidence to suggest that self-reported mother-daughter communication about education and the daughters' achievement orientation, as measured by their expectations to attend college and self-reported grades, were 2 mediating factors by which maternal college expectations for daughters were linked to their childbearing attitudes. Specifically, higher maternal expectations were associated with increased reported education communication, which in turn was associated with higher achievement orientation. In turn, higher achievement orientation was associated with the girls' desire to have a first child at older ages and more rejecting attitudes toward the prospect of an adolescent pregnancy. The findings underscore the crucial role that Latina mothers can play in both supporting their daughters' goals to pursue higher education and motivating daughters to avoid early childbearing.

Tampon use in adolescence: differences among European American, African American and Latina women in practices, concerns, and barriers.

PURPOSE: Tampon use is common among European American adolescents, but much less so among African American and Latina adolescents. Reasons are largely unclear. The general goal of this study was to examine differences among European American, African American and English-speaking Latina women and Spanish-speaking women in tampon use, sources of information about tampon use, and concerns and barriers related to tampon use in their adolescent years. METHOD: The sample included 165 low-income women ages 18 to 35 years (M = 24.1) who filled out a survey in a family planning clinic. RESULTS: European American women (71%) were significantly more likely to use tampons in adolescence compared to a considerably smaller proportion of African American (29%), English-speaking Latina (22%), and Spanish-speaking Latina women (5%). Mothers were a primary source of explanations about tampons for European American women, but not for ethnic minority women. African American and Latina English-speaking women were more likely to report that their mothers did not approve of tampons compared to none of the European American women. Specific concerns about tampons for Latina and African American women were that they were unsafe and inappropriate for virgins, and also for Latina women, that they could get lost or stuck. Overall, Latina women reported more concerns and barriers to tampon use than European American women which included a lack of knowledge on how to use them. Findings have implications for addressing the health education needs of low-income ethnic minority adolescents to reduce misconceptions and relieve concerns about tampons.

Mother-daughter communication and college women's confidence to communicate with family members and doctors about the human papillomavirus and sexual health.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: In this study, we examined whether mother-daughter sexuality communication in midadolescence contributes to young women's self-efficacy to consult with family members about sexual health problems, and to talk with physicians about the human papillomavirus (HPV). PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Young European American, Latina, and Asian Pacific Islander college women reported on how confident they felt talking to their family members and doctors about HPV and sexual health issues. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We gathered retrospective data regarding the nature of mother-daughter communication, including sexuality communication, in midadolescence. Other variables included physician trust, knowledge about HPV, and reports of current sexual activity. RESULTS: More openness in past general communication with their mothers, more perceived comfort in past sexuality communication, and a greater number of reproductive health topics discussed was linked to greater confidence in communicating with family members about sexual health problems. In addition, higher levels of sexual activity, more knowledge about HPV, and the number of reproductive health topics discussed with mothers in midadolescence, were associated with increased confidence talking to doctors about HPV and sexual health. CONCLUSION: Positive communication experiences with mothers in the early years may reduce the shame, embarrassment, and anxiety associated with talking to physicians about sensitive sexuality issues.

The role of religious involvement on depression, risky behavior, and academic performance among Korean American adolescents.

Structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical path model of church engagement, personal spirituality, and mentoring relationships on depressive symptoms, involvement in risky behaviors, and self-reported grades among Korean American adolescents. It was hypothesized that personal spirituality and mentoring relationship quality would mediate the relation between church engagement and adolescent outcomes. Data were obtained through a self-report survey from 248 Korean American adolescents in grades 7 through 12. High levels of church engagement, as characterized by years of attendance, choice to attend, and participation in activities, predicted deeper personal spirituality and better mentoring relationships. Personal spirituality, as measured by one's daily religious experiences, beliefs, and private spiritual practices, was a mediator of the relationship between church engagement and adolescent outcomes. Specifically, higher levels of church engagement was linked to stronger personal spirituality, which in turn predicted less depressive symptoms for girls and higher grades for boys.

"El Sexo no es Malo": Maternal Values Accompanying Contraceptive Use Advice to Young Latina Adolescent Daughters.

In this study, we utilized observational methods to identify maternal values and concerns accompanying contraceptive use advice in Latina mother-daughter sexuality conversations. The sample included non-sexually active early adolescents around 12 years of age and their mostly Spanish-speaking Latina mothers. Videotaped conversations were coded for the prevalence of messages related to four sexual values (abstinence, delay sex until older, sex is "normal", sex is "improper") and concerns about pregnancy and STD transmission. We examined whether the duration of time spent conversing about these messages was associated with participant characteristics, general communication openness, and the amount of time the dyads spent discussing contraceptive use. Results indicated that Latina mothers who had fewer years of education and lower family income talked longer to their daughters about the need to delay sex, avoid risky situations that would increase their chances of getting pregnant or acquiring an STD, and engage in self-protective practices. Less perceived openness in general communication as reported by both the mothers and the daughters was associated with increased time discussing that sex is improper. Although the duration of contraceptive use messages was brief, mothers and daughters who discussed the fact that sex is normal, and who communicated more about the importance of delaying sex, talked longer about contraceptive use practices compared to mothers and daughters who engaged in minimal discussion of these sexual values.

Salvaging a Childhood Language.

Childhood experience with a language seems to help adult learners speak it with a more native-like accent. Can analogous benefits be found beyond phonology? This study focused on adult learners of Spanish who had spoken Spanish as their native language before age 7 and only minimally, if at all, thereafter until they began to re-learn Spanish around age 14 years. They were compared with native speakers, childhood overhearers, and typical late-second-language (L2)-learners of Spanish. Both childhood speakers and overhearers spoke Spanish with a more native-like accent than typical late-L2-learners. On grammar measures, childhood speakers-although far from native-like-reliably outperformed childhood overhearers as well as typical late-L2-learners. These results suggest that while simply overhearing a language during childhood could help adult learners speak it with a more native-like phonology, speaking a language regularly during childhood could help re-learners use it with more native-like grammar as well as phonology.

Knowledge about condoms among low-income pregnant Latina adolescents in relation to explicit maternal discussion of contraceptives.

PURPOSE: To examine pregnant adolescents' conceptual knowledge about condom use and its relation to maternal implicit and explicit communication about contraceptives. METHODS: Forty-five pregnant Latina adolescents (aged 14 to 18 years) were interviewed regarding their knowledge about how condoms prevent pregnancy. In addition, the adolescents were videotaped having a conversation with their mothers (23 English-speaking, 22 Spanish-speaking) about dating and sexuality, which was coded for maternal explicit and implicit messages about contraception. RESULTS: A more detailed, accurate understanding of how condoms work, and the ability to explicitly describe that knowledge, was associated with adolescents reporting higher levels of confidence about using condoms, and increased comfort talking to partners about condoms. Mothers' explicit mention of contraception was related to their adolescents having detailed, accurate information about condoms. Among Spanish-speaking dyads only, maternal explicit messages were associated with adolescents using more explicit terminology in describing their knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Study results have implications for intervention with a high-risk population of Latina mothers and adolescents. The study also highlights the importance of examining specific aspects of knowledge, namely conceptual, biological knowledge.

Sociocultural and religious influences on the normative contraceptive practices of Latino women in the United States.

Presumably, Latino women engage in little family planning because of religious or cultural objections to contraception. The purpose of this study was to examine how acculturation, religion and various demographic factors were related to the family-planning behaviors of Latino women in the United States. Data were collected on 234 pregnant women (aged 18-40 years), on their family size, how actively they planned their current pregnancy, and how consistently they used contraception in the past. Through path analysis, we found that Spanish-speaking women were more consistent contraceptive users than their English-speaking counterparts, suggesting that acculturation negatively impacts contraceptive use. However, Spanish-speaking women with longer US residency were more likely to be consistent contraceptive users than Spanish-speaking women who had lived in the United States for briefer periods, suggesting a positive effect of acculturation. Religiosity and years of education were associated with family size, but not contraceptive use. Women who were married and had fewer children were more likely to plan their current pregnancy, indicating that Latino women take family size and marital status into consideration when actively deciding to become pregnant.

The role of misconceptions on Latino women's acceptance of emergency contraceptive pills.

The goal of this study was to assess factors associated with hormonal emergency contraception (EC) awareness and acceptability among a sample of low-income Latino women receiving care in two university reproductive health clinics. A total of 297 Latino women, 18-43 years of age, completed a survey about EC awareness during a clinic visit, between January and May 2003. Those women with some degree of awareness (n = 73) also completed questions related to their acceptance of EC. Factors examined included language preference, demographic characteristics, pregnancy history, contraceptive use history and knowledge and concerns about EC usage. We found that only 41% of English-speaking and 17% of Spanish-speaking women had ever heard of EC [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.9, confidence interval (CI): 1.3, 6.4]. Among those aware of EC, unwillingness to use this method was associated with low levels of knowledge about the EC mechanism of action, but not about the EC regimen (adjusted OR = 0.5; CI: 0.3, 0.9). Specific misconceptions underlying their objections included the belief that women are more likely to get pregnant in the beginning of their cycle compared to the middle (unadjusted OR = 6.3; CI: 1.8, 22.6), and a belief that EC prevents implantation rather than ovulation (unadjusted OR = 5.7; CI: 1.2, 28.1). The extent to which the women considered EC to be morally wrong depended on their misconceptions about the EC mechanism, not on their religious background. The link between expressed moral concerns and incorrect knowledge coupled with its lack of association to religiosity suggests that enhanced education can help to alleviate moral objections, thereby increasing potential usage of EC to prevent unintended pregnancy.

A longitudinal study of maternal messages about dating and sexuality and their influence on Latino adolescents.

PURPOSE: To learn more about the nature of mother-adolescent discussions about sexuality and their influence on adolescents' behaviors and attitudes in Latino families. METHODS: Fifty-five Latino mothers and their midadolescent children (35 girls, 20 boys, mean age 13 years) were observed talking about dating and sexuality. The videotaped conversations were coded for the prevalence of five maternal message types: beliefs and values, advice, cautionary messages, comments about the adolescents' everyday experiences, and maternal self-disclosure about her own dating and sexuality experiences. A structural equation model was used to examined how time spent on the various message types was related to three adolescent-related outcomes collected about 1 year later: sexual behavior, attitudes toward premarital sex, and reports of openness in the mother-child relationship. RESULTS: Latino mothers focused the conversation on their personal beliefs and values about dating and sexuality. Discussions about beliefs and values were accompanied by more parental advice and cautionary messages. More maternal self-disclosure about personal dating and sexuality experiences was related to the adolescents' reporting a better functioning relationship with their mothers and having more conservative attitudes toward premarital sex. Sexuality communication was both positively and negatively related to adolescent sexual behavior, but the messages were not the same. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal communication in Latino families influences adolescents' behaviors and attitudes toward sex and adolescents' perceptions of openness in the mother-child relationship. Observational methods are useful for studying the complexity of the communication process and for studying participants from ethnic minority populations who may be unfamiliar with or uncomfortable filling out questionnaires.