Acculturation and Adaptation from a Family Planning Perspective

Theme: Youth, Families and Communities

Moderator: Moderator: Anne Dannerbeck, Research Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of Missouri-Columbia

Presentations:

• "Patriarchal Perceptions of the Use of Birth Control Methods among Recent Hispanic Immigrants in Boone County, Missouri," by Eleazar González, Graduate Student, Department of Rural Sociology, University of Missouri; Marjorie R. Sable, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Missouri; Anne Dannerbeck, Research Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of Missouri; James D. Campbell, Associate Professor Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri; Roxana Huamán, Social Worker, Columbia Dept. of Health
• " Latino Parents and the Context of Reception for Child Rearing in the United States," by Anne Dannerbeck, Research Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of Missouri; Eleazar González, Graduate Student, Department of Rural Sociology, University of Missouri; Marjorie R. Sable, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Missouri; James D. Campbell, Associate Professor Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Missouri; Roxana Huamán, Social Worker, Columbia Dept. of Health

Assessing sex education strategies of the Latino families in Boone County was the focus of study for Anne Dannerbeck, a research assistant professor in the MU School of Social Work. Dannerbeck, with a research team of community outreach workers and research consultants, studied how the first generation of Hispanic immigrants prepares their children for life in the U.S., especially in the context of family planning and sexual education.

The study was originally developed by Marjorie Sable, director of doctoral studies and associate professor in the MU School of Social Work and James D. Campbell, associate professor and director of research in the MU Department of Family and Community Medicine. “They were motivated by a concern that Latina immigrants have relatively high rates of unintended pregnancies,” Dannerbeck said after the presentation.

Dannerbeck’s study showed that the family is the main educator regarding sexual matters. Eighty-five percent of both men and women surveyed said that they would prefer to have their children educated about sex by either “family only” or “mainly family,” but a small proportion of respondents said that they had received information on sex from their family (18% of men and 11% of women). “Because at least some of these individuals don’t plan to talk to their children about sex before marriage, we can better understand why Latino teen birth rates have increased in recent years,” Dannerbeck said during the presentation. 

“As teenagers are integrated into U.S. society, they are losing a lot of touch with family,” Dannerbeck said. “We need to support parents in providing information to their kids.” Dannerbeck said she is planning to use the research over the next year and a half to develop training materials for health care providers and to design methods that family planning providers can use to better access and communicate with Latino immigrants.

Dannerbeck and her team surveyed 100 females and 100 males, 184 of which were Mexican. The survey questions were asked in face-to-face interviews in the homes of Columbia Latino families in 2003 and 2004.  The respondents were 18-45 years of age and had lived in the United States five years or less.

Day 1, Wednesday, March 30. Breakout Session 4, 4PM

Friday April 1- Learning Stations, 9:30-10:45 AM

By Victoria Okoye
news@columbiamissourian.com

By Victoria Okoye

This conference report contributed by

Mid-Missouri bilingual newspaper.