UCLA

Cultural values, such as machismo and marianismo, and its effects on women sexuality and reproduction have been well documented across studies. However, little is known about the effects of respecto and familismo on the age at first reproduction in Hispanic women. Additionally, the transition into new environments (i.e., migration into the United States) oftentimes place women in conflicting situations due to differences in their outside cultural environment versus their home environment which may likely result in cultural mismatches. The present study investigates the effects of cultural values and acculturation on the age at first reproduction in 114 Hispanic women in the U.S.. Including how the transition of Hispanic women into the U.S. may result in a cultural mismatch affecting their reproductive decisions and thus the rate of cooperative care they may later receive from the grandmother-to-be when conceiving and postpartum. Cultural values and acculturation did not significantly impact age at first reproduction in this cohort of women. While cooperative help from grandmothers-to-be appeared to be associated with younger age at first birth (>20), however, the model itself was not statistically significant.