Relationship Power, Acculturation, and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Low-Income Latinas of Mexican or Puerto Rican Ethnicity.

Young adult Latinas are disproportionately overrepresented among HIV/AIDS incidence cases in the United States, and heterosexual contact has been identified as the primary mode of HIV transmission. This study examined sexual risk behavior among 40 low-income native-born and foreign-born Latinas of Mexican or Puerto Rican ethnicity seeking services at a community-based family planning clinic in a large Midwestern city. Participants were unmarried, noncohabiting Latinas ages 18-29 who were involved in primary heterosexual relationships. Survey data that were collected from participants included sociodemographics, relationship power, acculturation, and unprotected sex with primary and extradyadic partners. After statistically controlling for age and ethnic identity, the authors found that Latinas with less relationship power were significantly more likely to report having unprotected sex with primary partners. These findings suggest that HIV-prevention intervention efforts that focus on relationship power among young heterosexual Latinas in the United States may be effective in reducing sexual risk behavior.