SENORITAS: A Peer Organizing Program for Reducing HIV/AIDS Risk in College-Age Hispanics-Focus Group Results

BACKGROUND: SENORITAS (Student Education Needed In Order to Reduce Infection and Transmission of AIDS/HIV and STIs) is an innovative program funded by the Office on Women's Health, Department of Health & Human Services, designed to reduce HIV/STIs in Latina college students at an urban university. The IMB (Information-Motivation-Behavioral) skills model guided the development, implementation and evaluation of the program.

METHOD: After IRB approval, focus groups were conducted during the Fall and Spring 2004-07 semesters to better elucidate attitudes/barriers toward safer sex and gender/cultural factors that might impede these efforts (power imbalance, sexual coercion) among college-age Latinas living in South Florida like themselves.

RESULTS: Content/thematic analysis of focus groups comments revealed a biculturalization, reflecting a tension between “Americanization” (i.e., acculturation US values) and adhering to the traditional cultural/ethnic views. For example, one emergent theme was that Hispanic parents allow sons much more freedom than daughters, because men are expected to become sexually experienced to teach their virgin brides; girls are often told “do not have sex” but are given no explanation as to what sex actually is; and some girls practice oral and anal sex but regard themselves as virgins.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings from the focus groups reveal that traditional cultural/ethnic beliefs related to sex and gender roles may contribute to high risk sexual activity in college-age Latinas, denoting the need for tailored interventions on the college campus. We will discuss how these emergent concepts/issues related to risk/protective behavior are integrated into the SENORIAS intervention.