# Americanization is bad for Hispanic teens in US



## Edwin

This is an interesting article that will probably surprise no one.  But it should confirm the fears of some Hispanic parent in the US.


Hispanic teen sex study puzzling
Increased use of new language seems to lead to a much higher level of activity
By ERIC BERGER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

As Hispanic teens shed the language of their native countries and immerse themselves in American culture, they become dramatically more sexually active, a new study shows.

A review of 7,300 Arizona teenagers' behavior, which should translate well to other states that border Mexico, including Texas, found that 31 percent of Hispanic teens who speak primarily English have had sex, more than twice the percentage of those who speak primarily Spanish, 14 percent.

The key question — why? — remains unanswered.

"I wish I knew," said the study's lead author, Dr. Mary Adam, a pediatrics researcher at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine. "This is certainly something we are continuing to explore."

The study, published in this month's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, adds evidence to the so-called healthy immigrant paradox, that Hispanics coming to the United States are healthier than second- and third-generation U.S. residents from the same countries.

Various research has found that less-Americanized Hispanic children have healthier diets, better immunization rates, fewer suicide attempts, and decreased use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs than more Americanized adolescents.

"The study certainly speaks to some of the risks we face in everyday life here," said Katharine Donato, a sociologist at Rice University who studies ethnic health disparities. "But I wouldn't quite say it's an indictment of our culture."

Some researchers have attributed the importance of family in Hispanic culture, and the high regard for parental roles, as playing a part in protecting health, as well as the social support from a large family. But there is not a broad consensus yet in the medical and sociological communities studying these questions.

A better understanding of the beneficial aspects of Hispanic culture, and the healthy components of U.S. culture could generate new approaches to address a host of public health issues, from obesity to smoking, said Dr. Glenn Flores, a pediatrician at the Medical College of Wisconsin, in an editorial that accompanied the research article.

"The discovery of a single unifying intervention that could reduce or prevent some or all of these conditions would be hailed as one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine," he wrote.

Dr. Peggy Smith, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine and director of Ben Taub Hospital's Teen Health Clinic, said the trends in the study follow what she has observed.

Smith says as Hispanic girls become more immersed in U.S. culture, if they are unmarried when they become pregnant, they tend to be far less inclined to marry before or soon after the child is born.

That means the children are being raised in single-parent homes, which has financial ramifications, and studies have clearly shown that opportunities and outcomes for such children are far lower than compared to two-parent families, Smith said.

Smith believes she knows at least partly why Hispanic adolescents become more sexually active after living in the United States.

Hispanic children who come to this country become immersed in a culture that is more permissive about sex, Smith said — chaperones are not uncommon on dates in Mexico. Beyond that, because of an increasing focus on abstinence, there is less information available about birth control than in most other industrialized countries.

"As a culture, we have problems with openly discussing the whens and ifs of sex with our children," Smith said. "This is one of the outcomes of that."


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## Outsider

If I may be quite frank, that article illustrates well one of the things I most dislike about the media.

If one bothers to read the full text, one concludes that the *causes* for the differences between the life styles of Hispanics in progressing generations are unknown. To wit:



> The key question — why? — remains unanswered.
> 
> "I wish I knew," said the study's lead author, Dr. Mary Adam, a pediatrics researcher at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine. "This is certainly something we are continuing to explore."
> 
> [...]
> 
> "The study certainly speaks to some of the risks we face in everyday life here," said Katharine Donato, a sociologist at Rice University who studies ethnic health disparities. "But I wouldn't quite say it's an indictment of our culture."
> 
> [...]
> 
> Smith believes she knows at least partly why Hispanic adolescents become more sexually active after living in the United States.


Moreover, *not one* of the specialists quoted in the article attributed the cause of such changes to language.

Yet, the author of the article, Mr. Berger, saw no problem with writing in the title of his article that "INCREASED USE OF NEW LANGUAGE SEEMS TO LEAD TO A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF [SEXUAL] ACTIVITY".

It's journalism like this that gives science a bad name. 

[Edited to fix the quote.]


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## fatboy06

well seems makes it better than certain parts of the British press - they would simply say "Increased use of new language leads to a much higher level of sexual activity" or alternatively "need a good ****? find a dictionary!"


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## Outsider

fatboy06 said:
			
		

> [...] or alternatively "need a good ****? find a dictionary!"


That title, at least, has the merit of being so silly that people would tend not to take it and the article seriously.


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## fatboy06

True.  But even in the broadsheets I see gross misrepresentations of subjects I know about.


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## pinkpanter

Edwin said:
			
		

> As Hispanic teens shed the language of their native countries and immerse themselves in American culture, they become dramatically more sexually active, a new study shows.
> 
> Beyond that, because of an increasing focus on abstinence, there is less information available about birth control than in most other industrialized countries.



The article is not serious. The title says "Americanization is bad for Hispanic teens" and the first "bad" thing it mentions is that they are more sexually active.  The second thing I quote is the real bad thing, that enough information about safe sex is not provided in America. The U.S. is quite scary sometimes...


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## Edwin

pinkpanter said:
			
		

> The article is not serious. The title says "Americanization is bad for Hispanic teens" and the first "bad" thing it mentions is that they are more sexually active.  The second thing I quote is the real bad thing, that enough information about safe sex is not provided in America. The U.S. is quite scary sometimes...



But the increase in sexual activity is offset by poorer health and higher suicide rates.  As the article says:



> The study, published in this month's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, adds evidence to the so-called healthy immigrant paradox, that Hispanics coming to the United States are healthier than second- and third-generation U.S. residents from the same countries.
> 
> Various research has found that less-Americanized Hispanic children have healthier diets, better immunization rates, fewer suicide attempts, and decreased use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs than more Americanized adolescents.


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## te gato

Hello All;
So basically what this is saying is that the "English" speaking people are getting "IT" more than the "Spanish " speaking people.. Please!!!!  As was stated before there is no proof to this "find".....I will only believe it if I see statistics, proof....There is teen suicide  and teen sexual activity Everywhere..It does not matter what language you speak...
If this article were true..can I have the name of the city or town because I'm moving there!!  

te gato


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## basurero

Creo que si algunos adolescentes americanos se mudaran a un país hispano conseguirían menos sexo que los vecinos también. Tal vez tiene algo que ver con no integrarse bien en el nuevo entorno.


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## Outsider

pinkpanter said:
			
		

> The article is not serious. The title says "Americanization is bad for Hispanic teens" and the first "bad" thing it mentions is that they are more sexually active.


Well, whether that is good or bad is a matter of opinion. (Usually, teens think it's good, but parents think it's bad.  )


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## pinkpanter

Outsider said:
			
		

> Well, whether that is good or bad is a matter of opinion. (Usually, teens think it's good, but parents think it's bad.  )





Yes... I have had my fair share of "parent's way of thinking" Hehe


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## arabian_princess

I seem to be the only one who thinks the article is going in the right direction, although it is horrible written and presents a poor case.

Americanization is really just a loss of previous culture. Many of my middle-eastern friends do not practice their religion, customs, and have even forgotten their language in place of English and the sex-crazy skanky teen generation here. I know I am old fashioned, but still, I can't accept that it would be all right for someone to just entirely forget his or her heritage and morals like that.


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## Cath.S.

Man never is, but endlessly becomes.


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## gaer

pinkpanter said:
			
		

> The article is not serious. The title says "Americanization is bad for Hispanic teens" and the first "bad" thing it mentions is that they are more sexually active.  The second thing I quote is the real bad thing, that enough information about safe sex is not provided in America. The U.S. is quite scary sometimes...


VERY scary almost ALL the time. 

People go nuts if their children see someone nude in a movie, but it's fine if 10,000 people get blown to bits. Plus how many times have you heard the term "sex and violence", as if the two are related?


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## gaer

arabian_princess said:
			
		

> I seem to be the only one who thinks the article is going in the right direction, although it is horrible written and presents a poor case.
> 
> Americanization is really just a loss of previous culture. Many of my middle-eastern friends do not practice their religion, customs, and have even forgotten their language in place of English and the sex-crazy skanky teen generation here. I know I am old fashioned, but still, I can't accept that it would be all right for someone to just entirely forget his or her heritage and morals like that.


The problem is that people seem to think that the only way to be "American" is to give up everything else. I teach a lot of Hispanic teens, and I'm always pushing them to use their skills in Spanish, not only for cultural reasons, but because being fluent in two languages means more job opportunities.

Of course they don't listen. 

Gaer


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## Outsider

arabian_princess said:
			
		

> I seem to be the only one who thinks the article is going in the right direction, although it is horrible written and presents a poor case.
> 
> Americanization is really just a loss of previous culture. Many of my middle-eastern friends do not practice their religion, customs, and have even forgotten their language in place of English and the sex-crazy skanky teen generation here. I know I am old fashioned, but still, I can't accept that it would be all right for someone to just entirely forget his or her heritage and morals like that.


People tend to adjust to whatever social conditions they are put in. It's inevitable.


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## gaer

Outsider said:
			
		

> People tend to adjust to whatever social conditions they are put in. It's inevitable.


I agree. I would add: "You can't change people," 

Gaer


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## Edwin

Outsider said:
			
		

> People tend to adjust to whatever social conditions they are put in. It's inevitable.






			
				gaer said:
			
		

> I agree. I would add: "You can't change people,"
> 
> Gaer




I also agree. 

It is probabally a biological matter.  A whole animal develops from a single fertilized egg -- a single cell -- by repeated cell division.  When a cell divides how does it know when to take on a new function and become a skin cell, a bone cell, a fat cell, or whatever?  The theory is that a cell feels around itself and determines by its surroundings and its internal programming what it is and behaves accordingly.  I think humans are similar. Put them in a particular environment and they will act accordingly.  For example, take a below average human being,  surround him with people telling him he is president of the USA and he will to the best of his ability try to act accordingly.  Well, the experiment doesn't always work.


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## cuchuflete

Edwin said:
			
		

> I also agree.
> 
> It is probabally a biological matter. A whole animal develops from a single fertilized egg -- a single cell -- by repeated cell division. When a cell divides how does it know when to take on a new function and become a skin cell, a bone cell, a fat cell, or whatever? The theory is that a cell feels around itself and determines by its surroundings and its internal programming what it is and behaves accordingly. I think humans are similar. Put them in a particular environment and they will act accordingly. For example, take a below average human being, surround him with people telling him he is president of the USA and he will to the best of his ability try to act accordingly. Well, the experiment doesn't always work.


I assume you are speaking of primitive life forms, especially in view of your example.


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## Marc1

Edwin said:
			
		

> This is an interesting article that will probably surprise no one.  But it should confirm the fears of some Hispanic parent in the US.
> 
> 
> Hispanic teen sex study puzzling
> Increased use of new language seems to lead to a much higher level of activity
> By ERIC BERGER
> Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
> 
> As Hispanic teens shed the language of their native countries and immerse themselves in American culture, they become dramatically more sexually active, a new study shows.
> 
> A review of 7,300 Arizona teenagers' behavior, which should translate well to other states that border Mexico, including Texas, found that 31 percent of Hispanic teens who speak primarily English have had sex, more than twice the percentage of those who speak primarily Spanish, 14 percent.
> 
> The key question — why? — remains unanswered.
> 
> "I wish I knew," said the study's lead author, Dr. Mary Adam, a pediatrics researcher at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine. "This is certainly something we are continuing to explore."
> 
> The study, published in this month's Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, adds evidence to the so-called healthy immigrant paradox, that Hispanics coming to the United States are healthier than second- and third-generation U.S. residents from the same countries.
> 
> Various research has found that less-Americanized Hispanic children have healthier diets, better immunization rates, fewer suicide attempts, and decreased use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs than more Americanized adolescents.
> 
> "The study certainly speaks to some of the risks we face in everyday life here," said Katharine Donato, a sociologist at Rice University who studies ethnic health disparities. "But I wouldn't quite say it's an indictment of our culture."
> 
> Some researchers have attributed the importance of family in Hispanic culture, and the high regard for parental roles, as playing a part in protecting health, as well as the social support from a large family. But there is not a broad consensus yet in the medical and sociological communities studying these questions.
> 
> A better understanding of the beneficial aspects of Hispanic culture, and the healthy components of U.S. culture could generate new approaches to address a host of public health issues, from obesity to smoking, said Dr. Glenn Flores, a pediatrician at the Medical College of Wisconsin, in an editorial that accompanied the research article.
> 
> "The discovery of a single unifying intervention that could reduce or prevent some or all of these conditions would be hailed as one of the greatest accomplishments of modern medicine," he wrote.
> 
> Dr. Peggy Smith, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine and director of Ben Taub Hospital's Teen Health Clinic, said the trends in the study follow what she has observed.
> 
> Smith says as Hispanic girls become more immersed in U.S. culture, if they are unmarried when they become pregnant, they tend to be far less inclined to marry before or soon after the child is born.
> 
> That means the children are being raised in single-parent homes, which has financial ramifications, and studies have clearly shown that opportunities and outcomes for such children are far lower than compared to two-parent families, Smith said.
> 
> Smith believes she knows at least partly why Hispanic adolescents become more sexually active after living in the United States.
> 
> Hispanic children who come to this country become immersed in a culture that is more permissive about sex, Smith said — chaperones are not uncommon on dates in Mexico. Beyond that, because of an increasing focus on abstinence, there is less information available about birth control than in most other industrialized countries.
> 
> "As a culture, we have problems with openly discussing the whens and ifs of sex with our children," Smith said. "This is one of the outcomes of that."



Hi Edwin, interesting article.
I did not read any of the responses but I will do after I write this, so perhaps others have the same or different point of view, I don't know. 

Our behavior as individuals is shaped in the following way: Actions are determined by thoughts, thoughts are shaped by our believes, and believes are shaped by our environment. We are basically "programmed" by our environment, meaning the people that surround us, plus all the media, TV Radio, papers, books etc before the age of ten.

If a person receives its programming in one environment and then changes environment, two things can happen. 
The old environment that comes over with the person, in the form of other people or even memories resists the presence of the new, or the new environment takes over and re-programs our believes and generates new thoughts and therefore new actions.

The ability of the old environment to resist the attacks of the new,depend on a series of factors, the most important being the credibility and power of the authorities that represent such old environment. A well adjusted mother and father, united and successful in the new country, in a peaceful and harmonious surrounding may help preserve a good portion of the old values and keep things as they were in the old environment.

Anything that makes the old values less credible will bring the whole array of believes down. Separation of parents, lack of success, poverty, obvious adjustment problems from the parents who are seen as a misfit by the children, sexuality repression as dictated by some cultures predominantly catholic and many other obvious reasons for a child to think their parents are a failure. With the failure of the old environment comes the adoption en mass of the new array of believes. Unfortunately such transformation is usually done without the benefit of a selective criteria and the person is bound to absorb the new set of values from the least suitable environment namely the culture of the streets.

This is the reality of any child of migrants in any culture. For this reasons European migrants in other countries have traditionally tended to form protective sub-cultures with all the values and trends of the old country with schools shops, suburbs and in some cases whole towns. Far from being ghettos of failure this corners of suburbia are usually an example of success and prosperity that kids can easily relate to as a positive, even when "parental" environment.

To expect that a child would keep old values that are not seen as producers of success and happiness, acceptance and admiration from the rest of the surrounding new environment, is unrealistic at best. To be surprised by the child adoption of the new environment and that such acceptance is done at the wrong end of town is a surprise in itself. Who would think that a child would be able to screen the different degrees of values and select the one that best suit his future without his parent guiding them? If such is an expected outcome then we should let our kid all take to the streets and sort themselves out. 

The article makes a good assessment of the situation but seems to be blind to he human behaviour that is bound to take the steps taken, due to the total loss of confidence in the old values that the kid see represented in failure, poverty, hate towards the new environment and poor ability to adapt to it.
Marc

PS
Since I recieved accusations of plagiarism, without any proof of such actions, let it be clear that I wrote the above on my own, it represents my opinion and if such opinion happens to impinge on somones else's view on life, so be it. It is no surprise, since we are all different. Debate is based on disparaging points of view, courage is based on exposing our points of view without resorting to back alleys or third parties. 
Please refrain from sending me personal messages, I tend to ignore them.

MGG


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## pinkpanter

Interesting Marc1


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## te gato

I agree with Marc1 on some aspects...Yes upbringing has a lot to do with how the child is going to "behave"...Yet one must also remember that we can not watch our children 24 hours out of the day. You raise them hoping that they are going to turn out "good" and not get into any trouble... The reality is..the minute they leave your sight they are on their own to do whatever they wish... Peer pressure has so much influence on what teens do. Can you deny them all their friends??

Children/teens will try and experiment...It is a fact of growing up..Admit it..growing up we all did things that we look back on now and say..."man, that was a bone head move", but we did it all the same..and nine times out of ten, our parents told us not to do it...

The other point that was brought up, from the article....that has my claws out ...single parent families...So basically  what I understood from this was ..if you are a single parent your child/children are going to amount to nothing..due to the fact that a two "Parent" family can offer more.... More what?? More money so the child can have whatever they want?? Never learning the value of anything...More time with the Parents?? Look at some of the statistics...More children that get into trouble with drugs, sex,  come from Wealthy, affluent, two parent homes.. I am not saying that the "Poorer-single parent" children are not going to get into trouble either... it is all about values..and what the individual values...is it money, big house, things...or is it, honesty, integrity, good education...

As I stated before...you, as a parent, open the door to let your children out in the big bad world everyday...and pray to God that you have done a good job raising them..and they will know right from wrong....This is for all races of people...

te gato


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## Marc1

te gato said:
			
		

> I agree with Marc1 on some aspects...Yes upbringing has a lot to do with how the child is going to "behave"...Yet one must also remember that we can not watch our children 24 hours out of the day. You raise them hoping that they are going to turn out "good" and not get into any trouble... The reality is..the minute they leave your sight they are on their own to do whatever they wish... Peer pressure has so much influence on what teens do. Can you deny them all their friends??
> 
> Children/teens will try and experiment...It is a fact of growing up..Admit it..growing up we all did things that we look back on now and say..."man, that was a bone head move", but we did it all the same..and nine times out of ten, our parents told us not to do it...
> 
> The other point that was brought up, from the article....that has my claws out ...single parent families...So basically  what I understood from this was ..if you are a single parent your child/children are going to amount to nothing..due to the fact that a two "Parent" family can offer more.... More what?? More money so the child can have whatever they want?? Never learning the value of anything...More time with the Parents?? Look at some of the statistics...More children that get into trouble with drugs, sex,  come from Wealthy, affluent, two parent homes.. I am not saying that the "Poorer-single parent" children are not going to get into trouble either... it is all about values..and what the individual values...is it money, big house, things...or is it, honesty, integrity, good education...
> 
> As I stated before...you, as a parent, open the door to let your children out in the big bad world everyday...and pray to God that you have done a good job raising them..and they will know right from wrong....This is for all races of people...
> 
> te gato




I don't think you could write an article on sexuality without threading on someone's sore toe. It is just impossible. Not saying the article in question is particularly good. In fact I find it strange that the topic of teens sexuality deemed as bad, has not been taken up and questioned  by more contributors.

That early sex is not desirable from a social point of view is rather obvious. Early pregnancy, STD, and the link between multiple partners and cervical cancer being just one of the reasons. (this last one could be the topic of a new thread, some interesting facts there).

Let me have my say on "bad" teen sex.
Teenagers in many countries have the following culture with some variations: "There are two kind of girls, the one you go to bed with and the one you marry", so one has two sorts of girlfriends the serious one and the for-sex one."

The girl who has grown up knowing to be in the "serious" category will find it difficult to adjust to a culture who does not make such strong distinction or, that automatically places the Spanish speaking girls all in the "other" category.

The sudden increase in sexual activity for a person that usually does not have a culture of early sexual activity is a probable symptom of a loss of self esteem or a desperate attempt to fit in the wrong environment. Both are clearly bad, not necessarily labeling sexual activity as bad but the use of sexual activity as a way to feel culturally accepted, and to get back at what is perceived as a repressive cultural teaching at the same time.


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## te gato

Hi Marc1;

I agree with you.....I just wished that the article had more proof and was not so one sided...
te gato


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## Outsider

Marc1 said:
			
		

> The sudden increase in sexual activity for a person that usually does not have a culture of early sexual activity is a probable symptom of a loss of self esteem or a desperate attempt to fit in the wrong environment. Both are clearly bad, not necessarily labeling sexual activity as bad but the use of sexual activity as a way to feel culturally accepted, and to get back at what is perceived as a repressive cultural teaching at the same time.


Another problem with the article is that it talks about Hispanic-Americans, but says nothing about other Americans. What if the frequence of sexual activity in second or third generation Hispanic-Americans teens is simply the same as that of other American teens? Would that mean that other American teens all suffered from a loss of self-esteem, too?


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## Marc1

Outsider said:
			
		

> Another problem with the article is that it talks about Hispanic-Americans, but says nothing about other Americans. What if the frequence of sexual activity in second or third generation Hispanic-Americans teens is simply the same as that of other American teens? Would that mean that other American teens all suffered from a loss of self-esteem, too?


That is true but means nothing. The article is talking about transculture for spanish speaking into american culture. The rest is irrelevant.


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## Outsider

Marc1 said:
			
		

> That is true but means nothing. The article is talking about transculture for spanish speaking into american culture. The rest is irrelevant.


It's not irrelevant when you try to attribute those changes to "loss of self esteem or a desperate attempt to fit in the wrong environment". If non-Hispanic teens behave exactly the same way, then you have no reason to assume such causes.


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## Marc1

Outsider said:
			
		

> It's not irrelevant when you try to attribute those changes to "loss of self esteem or a desperate attempt to fit in the wrong environment". If non-Hispanic teens behave exactly the same way, then you have no reason to assume such causes.



Your comments attempt to establish a defense that is unnecessary. I am not pointing fingers, I am making an observation based on behavior. The fact that others do it too is meaningless to my observation. Sex is a tool used to buy the way into a group, a way to buy attention, a way to get back at parents, a way to rebel to a percieved repressive culture. The use of sex as a tool for that purpose produces in itself the lowering of self esteem, and this in itself is a catch 22 situation that validates for more sex. That is so for any culture no only Hispanic, yet the topic is Hispanic not Eskimos Americans or Pakistani.
The change of values that determines this behaviour was covered in a previous post.


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## Outsider

Marc1 said:
			
		

> Sex is a tool used to buy the way into a group, a way to buy attention, a way to get back at parents, a way to rebel to a percieved repressive culture.


You seem to be assuming that those are the only reasons why a young person could possibly have sex.


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## Marc1

Outsider said:
			
		

> You seem to be assuming that those are the only reasons why a young person could possibly have sex.


I made no assumptions, I state that: 





> Sex is a tool used to buy the way into a group, a way to buy attention, a way to get back at parents, a way to rebel to a percieved repressive culture. The use of sex as a tool for that purpose produces in itself the lowering of self esteem, and this in itself is a catch 22 situation that validates for more sex.



Hint: the key is in this words:"The use of sex as a tool for that purpose".

I know, that it is impossible to write something on sex that does not fly in someone's face. 
Debate is about learning from others and supply some other point of view for the others to learn from. 
To elaborate on the many possible reasons people have sex, the other many reasons people think they have sex for and the one others think that they think that the other people have sex because of....hum what a sentence.... is totaly out of my reason for posting.

You may want to start another thread on that very topic.
"Why teens have sex"
I promise not to post


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## Outsider

Marc1 said:
			
		

> To elaborate on the many possible reasons people have sex, the other many reasons people think they have sex for and the one others think that they think that the other people have sex because of....hum what a sentence.... is totaly out of my reason for posting.
> 
> You may want to start another thread on that very topic. "Why teens have sex"


I thought that was part of the subject of this one.



			
				Marc1 said:
			
		

> I promise not to post


You already have, apparently: 


			
				Marc1 said:
			
		

> The sudden increase in sexual activity for a person that usually does not have a culture of early sexual activity *is a probable symptom* of a loss of self esteem or a desperate attempt to fit in the wrong environment.


Maybe you should be the one to start that new thread.


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