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Adolescent Relationship Violence and Acculturation Among NYC Latinos

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Abstract

Acculturation has been shown to positively and negatively affect Latino health. Little research investigates the overlap between acculturation and the different types of relationship violence among Latino youth and most research in this area predominantly involves Mexican–American samples. The current study examined associations between indices of acculturation (language use at home, chosen survey language, and nativity) and relationship physical violence and sexual coercion, both received and delivered, among predominantly Dominican and Puerto Rican adolescents from New York City. From 2006 to 2007, 1,454 adolescents aged 13–21 years in New York City completed an anonymous survey that included the Conflict in Adolescent Relationships Inventory which estimates experiences of physical violence and sexual coercion, both received and delivered, in the previous year. This analysis includes bivariate and multivariate methods to test the associations between language use at home, chosen survey language, and nativity with the different types of relationship violence. Among females, there is a significant association between language use at home and overall level of acculturation with delivering and receiving relationship physical violence; however, we did not find this association in delivering and receiving relationship sexual coercion. We found no association between acculturation and any type of relationship violence among males. Among Latina females, language spoken at home is an indicator of other protective factors of physical relationship violence. Future research in this area should explore the potential protective factors surrounding relationship violence among Latina females of various subgroups using comprehensive measures of acculturation, household composition and family engagement.

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Notes

  1. The term Latino is used in this article to refer to individuals born in or with ancestry from Mexico, Central America, and Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean and South America.

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Acknowledgments

This article was written with support from the National Institute of Mental Health grant 5-T32-MH-13043. This project was supported in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded Center for Youth Violence Prevention Cooperative agreement # U49 CE00731. This research was supported in part by grant R49 CE002096-01 and cooperative agreement U49CE000731 from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC and in part by the New York City Council. The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and not necessarily those of the CDC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, Room 720D, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Melissa DuPont-Reyes & Leslie L. Davidson

  2. Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh/NSPCC Child Protection Research Centre Edinburgh, St. Leonard’s Land, Room 3.28, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh, EH8 8AQ, Scotland

    Deborah Fry

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, 410 West 10th Street, Suite 1001, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Vaughn Rickert

  4. Department of Pediatrics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Leslie L. Davidson

  5. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168th Street, Room 1601, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Leslie L. Davidson

Authors
  1. Melissa DuPont-Reyes
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  2. Deborah Fry
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  3. Vaughn Rickert
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  4. Leslie L. Davidson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa DuPont-Reyes.

Appendix

Appendix

Indices of acculturation (3 items)

figure a

Measures of relationship physical violence

(5 items: A items indicate delivered; B items indicate received)

figure b

Measures of relationship sexual coercion

(3 items: A items indicate delivered; B items indicate received)

figure c

Measures of fear within the context of the relationship (2 items)

figure d

Measures of non partner sexual abuse history (5 items)

figure e

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DuPont-Reyes, M., Fry, D., Rickert, V. et al. Adolescent Relationship Violence and Acculturation Among NYC Latinos. Matern Child Health J 19, 1543–1552 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1659-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1659-9

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