Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors of Chinese Adolescents: Implications for Sexuality Education Programs

This study examined knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about sexuality among Chinese adolescents. 331 male and 223 female Chinese students from 5 Chinese high schools completed the measure of relative variables based on a self-administered questionnaire. Results indicate the overall level of sexuality knowledge was low with mean scores of 8.57 (1.86) out of 15 for males, and 7.82 (2.01) out of 15 for females; only 3.6% of males (no females) reported having ever had sexual intercourse; there were statistically significant differences in attitudes toward sexuality in life [M:3.25(.84), F:2.93(.78), F_{1, 551} = 20.955, p<.001], attitudes toward premarital intercourse [M:2.78(.98), F:3.50(.94), F_{1, 551} = 76.139, p<.001], comfort engaging in social activities [M:3.09(.68), F:2.80(.72), F_{1, 459} = 18.365, p<.001], comfort talking with friends, girls/boy friends, and parents about birth control [M:2.00(.69), F:1.76(.73), F_{1, 184} =5.194, p<.05], and social decision- making skills [M:3.34(.72), F:3.19(.70), F_{1, 527} = 5.409], between males and females. Based on self-reports,Chinese adolescents were neither sexually active nor well-informed of sexuality-related topics compared to non-Asian adolescents. The relationships between attitudes and values toward sexuality, and sexual behavior were complex. These findings are somewhat inconsistent with reported "sexuality" public health challenges faced by the Chinese government.Future studies that seek to understand sexuality knowledge, attitudes and behaviors among Chinese adolescents should include mixed methodology approaches that provide more in-depth discussion of "participant lived experiences" to enable researchers to better understand sexuality perceptions and behaviors. These studies may prove helpful for Chinese officials when designing sexuality education programs as part of comprehensive school health education. Most importantly, the researchers recommend that any future large scale studies consider cultural norms such as the importance of privacy when participants are asked to report/discuss sexuality-related topics.Privacy may translate to a more private room for completing a questionnaire.
Keyword(s): high school issues, international issues, research