Romantic Relationships among Immigrant Adolescents

Abstract

We examine the importance of the family and friendship group as two crucial developmental contexts for adolescent relationship experiences. We focus particularly on immigrant adolescents who make up an increasing proportion of the youth population and who come from cultural contexts with stronger family traditions than native-born adolescents. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we model the characteristics associated with having romantic relationships and participating in sex-related activities within relationships for immigrant adolescents, children of immigrants and adolescents in native-born families. First generation adolescents are less likely to enter romantic relationships than adolescents in native-born families, but those who do participate engage in similar sex-related activities as native-born youth. This evidence suggests that immigrant youth who enter romantic relationships are selective of the more assimilated to native adolescent norms of heterosexual behavior. The peer group is especially important for immigrant adolescents because it provides opportunities for romantic relationship involvement.