Early childbearing among Mexican-American young women: Participatory photography sheds light on the role of neighborhood context

BACKGROUND: Mexican-American young women are disproportionately affected by early childbearing. Neighborhood-level factors have been associated with high birth rates among teens, yet most research on this population focuses on micro-level influences. This study was conducted in order to better understand how Mexican-American young women conceptualize and experience their neighborhood context, and how this context may create a risk environment for early childbearing. METHODS: This study utilized a qualitative, mixed-methods descriptive design. Data was collected over four weeks using focus groups, participatory photography, and photo-elicitation in order to gain a more nuanced understanding of how neighborhood context is conceptualized and experienced by Mexican-American young women, and how these experiences may influence risk for early childbearing. RESULTS: Ten Mexican-American young women 15 to 17 years of age participated in this study. Two themes emerged: (1) Participants view their “block” as their neighborhood, regardless of any imposed designations commonly used by researchers. (2) Participants' social environments extend beyond their “blocks” and neighborhoods, including spaces they travel through daily. (2) Emergent themes characterizing the quality of neighborhood contexts include gang activity and persistent discrimination experiences. CONCLUSION: Using qualitative and visual data, the findings inform our knowledge of Mexican-American young women's understandings of and experiences with neighborhood context. These findings point to the importance of neighborhood-level factors in the lives of Mexican-American young women, and may be used to inform future studies looking at the relationship of neighborhood context to early childbearing among this population, particularly as it relates to the measurement of neighborhood.