Factors associated with unsafe sexual behavior among sexually active Chinese University students, Hebei Province, 2019

Abstract

Background Healthy sexual behavior is critical for controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic among university students, particularly in regions with increasing infection rates among university students in China. Methods This study investigated the prevalence of unhealthy sexual behavior in the past 6 months and the associated demographic and psychosocial factors among sexually active Chinese university students. Self-identified sexually active Chinese university students were recruited for the study. Results The study found that most students used condoms inconsistently during sexual intercourse (54.8%), and logistic regression showed that condomless sex was associated with being raised by a single parent (AOR = 1.934, 95% CI 1.234–3.031) or by grandparents or others (AOR = 1.583, 95% CI 1.003–2.50) and with sometimes using dating apps (AOR = 1.496, 95% CI 1.106–2.024). The independent protective factors for condomless sex were HIV knowledge scores between 15 and 18 compared to scores of 0 to 4 (AOR = 0.434, 95% CI 0.244–0.771). Among sexually active university students, 15.5% reported that they had multiple sexual partners; having multiple sexual partners was associated with sometimes (AOR = 2.543, 95% CI 1.553–4.167) or always (AOR =4.048, 95% CI 2.177–7.527) using dating apps. Being female (AOR = 0.402, 95% CI 0.231–0.699) and in a relationship (AOR = 0.236, 95% CI 0.154–0.363) were protective factors against having multiple sexual partners. Conclusions There is an urgent need to promote HIV prevention and to implement psychosocial interventions by providing comprehensive sex education and access to condoms and health care on campuses to decrease the potential factors related to unhealthy sexual behaviors among university students.

Prevalence of risky sexual behavior and associated factors among Injibara University students, Northwest Ethiopia

“…This study showed that participants who lack basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention methods are two times more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors than their counterparts. This finding is supported by studies conducted in Nigeria ( 44 ), China ( 45 ), and the USA ( 46 ). The reason could be that participants who have good knowledge will outweigh the risk of contracting HIV and will be cautious in their sexual relationships ( 47 , 48 ).…”