Acculturation and Reproductive Health Disparities in Mexican-Origin Adolescents

描述（由申请人提供）：NRSA护理研究培训补助金的长期目标是支持申请人作为护士科学家的培训，致力于了解和减少美国墨西哥裔人口的生殖健康差异。国家护理研究所的战略计划强调减少和消除健康差距，在美国的墨西哥裔青少年女性中存在显著的生殖健康差距，包括分娩风险增加。以往关于青少年生殖健康行为的研究主要集中在个人和家庭风险因素上，而没有解决拉美裔人的异质性，包括原籍国和移民身份，这限制了对结构性因素影响的探索。此外，人们对文化的作用及其如何影响青少年的生殖健康行为仍然知之甚少。这一培训计划将支持一项研究项目，通过以下三个具体目标，调查性别和性的文化建构如何调解结构性因素与墨西哥裔少女生殖健康行为之间的关系：(1)探讨结构性因素（如社区贫困、居住隔离）如何影响三代墨西哥裔移民青少年女性的生殖健康行为（如初生年龄、初次性行为年龄、避孕药具使用）。这一目标将通过全国青少年健康纵向研究的二级数据分析来实现。(2)探讨三代墨西哥裔移民女性的性别和性文化建构差异。这一目标将通过在科罗拉多州丹佛市的一个墨西哥社区进行的半结构化生活史访谈来实现。(3)解释性别和性文化建构如何中介结构因素与三代墨西哥裔青少年移民生殖健康行为之间的关系。这一目标将通过定量和定性数据的整合和分析来实现。该培训计划是跨学科的，生物行为学的，并采用多层次的定量和定性混合方法，这是国家护理研究中心认可的改善护理研究的策略。随着美国墨西哥裔人口的快速增长，加上整个生命周期中显著的健康和经济差距，本研究项目将解决文献中的空白，及时，并有可能为减少健康差距，改善人口健康，提高美国墨西哥裔人的生活质量的干预措施提供证据

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term objective for this NRSA training grant in nursing research is to support the applicant's training as a nurse scientist committed to understanding and reducing reproductive health disparities in the Mexican-origin population in the United States. Reducing and eliminating health disparities is emphasized in the National Institute of Nursing Research's strategic plan and there are significant reproductive health disparities among Mexican-origin adolescent females in the U.S., including an increased risk for childbirth. Previous research on reproductive health behavior in adolescents has focused on individual and familial risk factors and has not addressed the heterogeneity of Latinos, including country of origin and immigrant status, which has limited exploration of the influence of structural factors. Furthermore, the role of culture and how it influences the reproductive health behavior of adolescents remains poorly understood. This training plan will provide support for a research project to investigate how cultural constructions of gender and sexuality mediate the relationship between structural factors and reproductive health behaviors in Mexican- origin adolescent females through three specific aims: (1) to investigate how structural factors (i.e., community level poverty, residential segregation) influence reproductive health behaviors (i.e., age at first birth, age at first sex, contraceptive use) across three immigrant generations of Mexican-origin adolescent females. This aim will be met through a secondary data analysis of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. (2) To explore how cultural constructions of gender and sexuality differ across three immigrant generations of Mexican-origin adolescent females. This aim will be met through semi-structured life history interviews in a Mexican community in Denver, Colorado. (3) To explain how cultural constructions of gender and sexuality mediate the relationship between structural factors and reproductive health behaviors across three immigrant generations of Mexican-origin adolescent females. This aim will be met through the integration and analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data. This training plan i interdisciplinary, bio-behavioral, and utilizes a multi- level mixed quantitative and qualitative approach, which are strategies endorsed by NINR to improve nursing research. With the rapid growth of the Mexican-origin population in the U.S., coupled with significant health and economic disparities across the lifespan, this research project will address the gaps in the literature, is timely, and has potential to provide evidence for interventions that can reduce health disparities, improve population health, and increase the quality of life for Mexican-origin persons in the U.S.