Factors associated with access to sexual health services among teens in toronto: does immigration matter?

This manuscript explores predictors of access to sexual health services among urban immigrant adolescents who live in Toronto, Canada. Surveys (n = 1216) were collected from pre-existing youth groups in community settings. A binary logistic multivariate model was developed to examine associations between access to sexual health services and a series of individual, interpersonal, and structural variables. Sexual activity, age, race, and social resources each had significant partial impact on access to sexual health services. Among young women, those with more social resources had significantly accessed services more often than those with fewer resources, but among men there was no difference as a function of social resources. Although immigration predicted access to sexual health services on its own, it was not statistically significant in this model when other variables were included. Immigration status, in and of itself, was not a predictor of youth's access to sexual health services. The impact of immigration status appears to occur because of its association with other variables, such as race. Implications for practice are discussed.