THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN IMMIGRANT STATUS AND RISK-BEHAVIOR PATTERNS IN LATINO ADOLESCENTS

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify differences in patt erns of risk-taking behavior among Latino adolescents with respect to immigrant status and in comparison to their native non-Hispanic white counterparts. Methods: In fall of 1988 and spring of 1989 a confidenti al Teen Health Risk Survey was administered to 1,789 students at two h igh schools in northern California, both of which have a school health center on-site, and which had large numbers of Latino students enroll ed. We divided the Latino adolescent population into two groups: Latin os who were born in the United States (native-born Latinos) and Latino s who had immigrated to the United States (Latino immigrants). Eight d ifferent risk-taking behaviors were identified for this study: alcohol , cigarette, marijuana, illicit drug use, self-violence, drunk driving , unintended pregnancy, and violence. Results: We found that in genera l, Latino students engaged in a greater number of risk-taking behavior s than native non-Hispanic whites. The mean number of risk behaviors w as highest for Latino immigrants (1.78), followed by native-born Latin os (1.71), and native non-Hispanic whites (.99). A t-test revealed tha t non-Hispanic whites were statistically different from both Latino po pulations in their level of risk-taking behavior (p < 0.05). Conclusio ns: This sample of immigrant Latino students appeared to be vulnerable to engaging in risk-taking behaviors and did not exhibit the anticipa ted cultural protective factors associated with recent immigrants. The extent and variety of risk-taking behaviors clearly call for the deve lopment of culturally sensitive and accessible health education and he alth care services within a broader array of social, educational and s upport services.