Racial Differences in Sexual and Fertility Attitudes in an Urban Setting

Authors: Browning, ChristopherR.; Burrington, LoriA.

Source: Journal of Marriage and Family, Volume 68, Number 1, February 2006 , pp. 236-251(16)

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Abstract:

Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (neighborhood N= 77; individual N= 951), we consider the extent to which African American youth maintain sexual and fertility-related norms that support early sexual activity and childbearing and examine the robustness of racial differences in sexual attitudes to controls for neighborhood, family, and individual characteristics. At a minimum, neighborhood economic disadvantage accounts for 26% of the baseline increased likelihood of holding attitudes that encourage early sexual activity among African American youth when compared with Whites. Neighborhood-, family-, and individual-level factors account for 67% of the race difference in sexual attitudes. Implications for contextual and race-based theories of sexual and fertility norms are discussed.

Keywords: adolescent sexual attitudes; multilevel models; neighborhood effects; racial differences

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00244.x

Affiliations: 1: The Ohio State University

Publication date: 2006-02-01