A Comparison of African American and Cuban American Adolescent Juvenile Offenders: Risky Sexual and Drug Use Behaviors.

Racial and ethnic disparities exist in HIV seroconversion rates, with African American and Hispanic youth in the 13-19-year-old age group representing 61% and 21% of new AIDS cases, respectively. The aim of this study was to examine sexual and drug use behaviors among a sample of 138 African American and Cuban American juvenile offenders. Cuban American adolescents showed higher levels of unprotected sex, higher levels of sex while using drugs, and higher levels of drug/alcohol use in the three and six months prior to confinement. These differences may be explained by multiple factors, including differences in acculturation levels among the Cuban American adolescents, differences in health messages targeted at the two groups, and family mores and norms.