Romantic relationship and pregnancy dynamics among adolescent African Americans and refugees living in the United States

Abstract

AbstractFew studies have examined romantic relationship attitudes and behaviors among ethnic or racial minority youth. The purpose of this study was to compare African American (AA) and mostly African refugee adolescents living in a U.S. city on romantic relationship attitudes and behaviors. A baseline questionnaire was given to 1448 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 19 from 2011 to 2014 as part of a larger study on teen pregnancy prevention (Barbee et al., 2016). The sample included both U.S.‐born AA youth and a sample of mostly African refugee youth. Eighty‐eight percent of youth were on free and reduced lunch and living in the highest poverty neighborhoods of a southern U.S. city. AAs reported more favorable life history expectations than refugees. In addition, refugee youth were more likely than AAs to see the ecology as dangerous and their lives as likely to be short. Results also found that AA youth were more secure and less avoidant in their attachment styles than refugee youth. Using a measure of romantic motives, refugee youth were more likely to display traits of “parasites” and less likely to be “partners” or “players” than AA youth. Implications for pregnancy outcomes, youth development, and interventions are discussed.