Teen pregnancy among Latinas - Research Paper Example

Teenage Pregnancy among Latinas Teenage Pregnancy among Latinas A survey conducted by National Survey of Family Growth reveals that teen pregnancy among the Latinas is significantly high. Although social, economic and cultural factors has a part to play as far as these rates are concerned, increased craving for pregnancy may be one important factor responsible for such extraordinary rates (Geronimus, 2003). This prospective cohort study will find out whether the increased in desire for pregnancy has a part to play in bringing about this extraordinary observation.

The data for this prospective cohort study will be obtained from Mission Teen Health Project, a project that assessed the roles of sexual and peer networks in sexual behavior and pregnancy among the adolescents recruited in San Francisco’s mission District. This setting is suitable for data collection because it serves as a cultural hub for the local Latino community (Geronimus, 2003). This means that the kind of information that will be obtained is representative. About 240 female participants, aged 15-19 will be recruited for the study.

The participants will come from the community location and street venues. Because the study will aim at finding out information concerning all participants, the purposive, venue-based sampling technique will be used. This technique is important in the sense that it will not only gather information from accessible participants but also from the hard-to-get teenagers who are otherwise inaccessible. The eligibility criteria that will be adopted will be that the participant should be able to speak fluent English or Spanish (Sabogal, 1987).

The participant must also be a current resident in the San Francisco and must have intention of living in the study area throughout the study time, two years. The variables that will be used for this study are divided into independent and dependent variables. The independent variables will be classified into three categories. The first category will be the cultural influences. The second category is home and family characteristics such as the living conditions, the parental monitoring, and the age and education level of the mother.

The last category of the independent variable will be individual factors (Sabogal, 1987).ReferencesGeronimus A.T (2003). Damned if you do: culture, identity, privilege, and teenage childbearing in the United States. Social Science & Medicine, 2003, 57(5):881–893.Sabogal F et al. (1987). Hispanic familism and acculturation: what changes and what doesn’t, Hispanic. Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 1987, 9(4):397–412.