title: Psychological Distress and Associated Factors Among Mexican American Adolescent Females.
abstract: Mental health literacy is a critical component of adolescent health enabling recognition, management, and prevention of psychological distress. Adolescents engaging in risk behaviors and experiencing interpersonal violence, substance use, and pregnancy are at high risk for psychological distress.
  
  
  
  Secondary analysis of data collected via a control randomized trial among Mexican American females (aged 14-18 years; N = 461) experiencing high-risk sexual behavior, interpersonal violence, and sexually transmitted infection was conducted with comparisons of psychological distress by pregnancy status.
  
  
  
  At study entry, 46.4% (n = 214) self-reported ever experiencing pregnancy (ever-pregnant) while 53.6% (n = 246) self-reported never experiencing pregnancy (never-pregnant). Adolescents reporting ever-pregnancy status were older and school dropouts. However, adolescents reporting never-pregnancy experienced higher sexual risk behaviors, substance use, interpersonal violence, and psychological distress than those reporting ever-pregnancy. A higher proportion of ever- versus never-pregnant adolescents were born in Mexico and preferred Spanish language indicating less acculturation.
  
  
  
  Findings support the need for mental health literacy concerning psychological distress with consideration of implications of acculturation among adolescents experiencing high-risk sexual behavior, interpersonal violence, and substance use. More never- than ever-pregnant adolescents were attending school, presenting opportunities for implementation of health promotion strategies within community health settings for mental health literacy.
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Recto
authors.affiliation: The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA jdchampion@mail.nur.utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Jane Dimmitt
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Champion
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008800:Mexico; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012574:Schools; D057566:Self Report; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D014481:United States; D014754:Violence
keywords: Mexican/Latino youth; access to care; community health; reproductive health