Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114279

Héctor Carrillo, DrPH, Jorge Fontdevila, PhD, and Victoria González-Rivera, PhD. Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 4094 Fourth Avenue, Suite 202, San Diego, CA 92103, 619.220.7978, jfontdevila@sdtrayectos.org

Background: There is currently no consensus on the effects of acculturation on HIV risk in Latino heterosexual populations. For instance, among less acculturated Latinas, lower HIV risk has been associated with sexual modesty, while higher HIV risk has been associated with the negative effects of machismo. Similarly, among highly acculturated Latinas, lower HIV risk has been associated with self-determination and greater equality, and higher HIV risk has been associated with promiscuity and sexual permissiveness. In our research we have examined the premises behind such claims about the effects of acculturation on HIV risk in Latino populations.

Methods: Individual qualitative interviews with 41 heterosexual men and women of Mexican origin in San Diego, California. These interviews lasted 2 hours on average, were transcribed verbatim, and were analyzed using a qualitative interpretive method.

Results: We found complex meanings that participants attach to monogamy and to casual sex. We identified patterns of lived experience that question the validity of assumptions made in the literature about the cultural values that inform sexual decision making among different subgroups of Latinos(as) defined by acculturation levels.

Conclusions: We will discuss the meanings associated with true monogamy, unilateral monogamy, “threesome” monogamy, casual sex, sexual dating, and sex-money exchanges in our sample, and the implications of our findings for HIV prevention programs. We have concluded that dispelling widespread premises about “Latino traditional” and “American” values in research with Latino populations may help to better account for the role of cultural values and acculturation in the creation of HIV risk.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Identify and problematize premises and stereotypes informing notions of “Latino traditional” and “American” norms and values regarding gender, sexuality, and HIV.
• Develop the ability to recognize patterns of meaning associated with monogamy and casual sex within Latino(a) populations of Mexican origin.
• Recognize the importance of considering intra-group cultural diversity—in terms of sexual meanings, norms, and values—in the creation of HIV prevention programs for Latino(a) populations.

Keywords: HIV Risk Behavior, Culture

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.