title: Latina adolescents' perceptions of their male partners' influences on childbearing: findings from a qualitative study in California.
abstract: Teenage births among Latina women living in the USA remain higher than any other racial/ethnic group. This study explored the role that male partners play in the occurrence of pregnancy and their influence on teenage mothers' future plans in a sample of women pregnant with their first child. Qualitative analysis revealed that partners played a significant role in the use of contraception, timing and desire for pregnancy and young women's post-pregnancy plans for education, work and childrearing. Men's older age, concerns about contraceptive use and fertility, reluctance to use condoms, and readiness for parenthood put their partners at increased risk for pregnancy. More acculturated men were supportive of young women's educational goals in many cases, whereas less acculturated males subscribed to more rigid gender roles which required that their partners remain at home after the birth of their child. These findings have important implications for programmes that seek to reduce teenage pregnancy in the US Latino population.
authors.affiliation: Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, USA. Sarah.Schwartz@ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Claire D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Brindis
authors.forename: Lauren J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Ralph
authors.forename: M Antonia
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Biggs
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000208:ethnology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012736:Sex Education / Q000379:methods*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult