AEGiS-14IAC: Sexual behavior relative to sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and young adults of different immigrant groups in the City of Barcelona.

14th International AIDS Conference

Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

Sexual behavior relative to sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and young adults of different immigrant groups in the City of Barcelona.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. D11115)

mez i Prat JG, Saltor EP, Reverte MR, Jaime EB, Ndiaye AM
Unitat de Malalties Tropicals, Importades i Vacunacions Internacionals, Barcelona, Spain

BACKGROUND: The immigrant population has increased considerably in the city of Barcelona over the last five years, particularly adolescents and young adults. People in these age categories are highly vulnerable to sexual transmitted diseases. However, the sexual behavior of young immigrants of different ethnicities is poorly known. The objective of this study was to characterize the sexual behavior of these immigrant groups in Barcelona relative to their sexual and reproductive health.

METHODS: A combination of qualitative (semi-structured interview and narrative research method) and quantitative methodology was used. The population studied comprised female and male immigrants from Latin American, sub-Saharan and Magreb communities aged 11 to 30 years old, who have been living in Barcelona for 2 years at most, and a Catalan control group.

RESULTS: The qualitative results revealed strong differences regarding the concept of sex, sexual practices and protective measures taken among ethnic groups. All groups reported differences in dating patterns in Barcelona relative to their country of origin. Even though the Magreb group considered easier to date and negotiate sexual encounters here, men and women limit sexual relationships to marriage. The West African and Andean groups reported greater difficulty in dating here, and tended to restrict relationships to their respective communities. All groups, including the Catalan, showed differences in the utilization of protective measures, depending on whether the relationship was stable or occasional. The Magreb group relates the term protection to avoiding undesired pregnancy in particular. These results furnished the foundations to devise a questionnaire, which was applied to 450 people and is currently being analyzed.

CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results evidence the relevance of this study in future prevention measures and policies.

Keywords: AEGIS, Sex Behavior, Reproductive Medicine, Emigration and Immigration, Cities, Adolescent Behavior, Marriage, Ethnic Groups, Coitus, Questionnaires, Adolescent, Adult, Human, Female, Male, Adolescence, Pregnancy

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D11115