Generational Differences in Early Fertility and Sexual Behavior among Male and Female Immigrants in the United States

Felicia Yang DeLeone, Cornell University

This paper examines factors that predict early fertility and sexual risk taking behavior among generations of young U.S. immigrants. Differences between male and female immigrants are emphasized. The study compares predictors of sexual risk taking behavior among first and second generation immigrants in the United States to those for natives using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth of 1997 (NLSY97), the National Longitudinal Study of Youth of 1979 (NLSY79), and the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS88). Both differences in outcomes between natives and immigrants and differences in outcomes between generations and cohorts of immigrants are considered. Using discrete time logistic survival models and Poisson regression, the role of family background characteristics (such as family structure), community/contextual characteristics (such as concentration of immigrants), and assimilation (such as generation status) are considered.