In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

48 3 Latina/o Childhood Sexuality SONYA GR ANT AR R EOLA Latina/os are the fastest-growing and the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. Latina/os, with a median age of twenty-seven years in 2005, were much younger than the population as a whole at thirty-six years. Further, whereas 25 percent of the total U.S. population was under eighteen years of age, 3 percent of the Latina/o population was under age eighteen. Despite these large and growing numbers of Latina/os in the United States, research on their childhood sexuality is limited. Studying childhood sexuality among Latina/os is important, because their cultural beliefs and values may mediate the relationships between sexual experiences and various developmental, psychological, and biological health outcomes during childhood and in adulthood.1 Childhood sexuality is a controversial topic in the United States, as is made evident by the paucity of research on normative childhood sexual development. What research there is focuses primarily on nonnormative sexual development, such as childhood sexual abuse and negative outcomes of adolescent sexual initiation, such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), described below. The existing literature on normative childhood sexuality is limited in scope and depth. In an attempt to broaden our understanding of childhood sexuality, scholars and clinicians have recently begun a discourse that explores the existing literature and calls for a wider scope of research that examines both normative and nonnormative childhood sexual development. Although this literature does not specifically address aspects of childhood sexuality unique to Latina/os, it provides a framework for understanding childhood development in which to situate Latina/o childhood sexuality.2 The goal of the present review is to present findings on Latina/o childhood sexuality in the context of the cultural norms that may influence that sexuality and on childhood sexual development generally. For the purposes of this review, research on “Latina/os” denotes individuals or populations referenced in the literature as Latina/o or Hispanic; the literature on “childhood” comprises research LATINA/O CHILDHOOD SEXUALITY 49 conducted with children or adolescents, or both; and “sexuality” research is limited to studies primarily focused on sexual behavior or development. Latina/o Cultural Norms Research on Latina/o cultural norms suggests that religiosity, familismo, and traditional gender roles have culturally specific effects on Latina/o sexuality. Although not all identifiable cultural norms apply to all Latina/os, they portray some of the context in which sexuality develops for Latina/os.3 Religiosity Religiosity is characterized by religious practice and belief, church attendance, and valuing religion and has been associated with less permissive attitudes about sex and with limited sexual experience. Given that the Roman Catholic Church advocates monogamy and abstinence until marriage and prohibits birth control, it may be that religiosity associated with Roman Catholicism among Latina/os accounts for these findings. Yet not all Latina/os are Roman Catholic, and among those who identify as such, sexual behaviors are not always tied to religious imperatives.5 Familismo Stemming from a collective worldview, familismo involves a strong identification with and attachment to one’s nuclear and extended family and is associated with loyalty, reciprocity, and solidarity among family members.6 Familismo may mediate stressors confronted by Latina/o adolescents and has been associated with decreased influence by peers to initiate sexual intercourse.7 Familismo may also be related to the cultural value placed on being a mother, which has been associated with positive views of pregnancy and childbearing, low contraceptive use, and higher pregnancy, birth, and marriage rates.8 Traditional Gender Roles It has been suggested that the stereotypical gender role for Latinos is that they are afforded more power and hold a dominant position within the family, whereas Latinas are expected to have less decision-making power and more household responsibilities than men. Expressions of these gender roles are captured in the terms machismo and marianismo. Machismo is a term that has at times been used in the United States to describe Latinos as controlling, possessive , sexist, and domineering and often is associated with violence against women. Machismo as an “ideology” characterizes men as poor, uneducated, violent, and oppressive and, as perpetuated in the United States, may negatively affect how Latinos develop and behave sexually.9 In the context of men’s roles in family life, however, machismo implies that the “man’s responsibility is to provide for, protect, and defend his family,” and that...

Share