Premarital sexual behavior among Chinese college students in the United States

Abstract

Little is known about sexuality among Chinese in the U.S. There are reasons to believe that their sexual attitudes and behaviors would differ from those of Chinese in Asia as well as other groups in the U.S. This survey of ethnic Chinese college students in the U.S. examined the permissiveness of their attitudes toward premarital sex and their premarital sexual behavior with an eye toward their levels of acculturation. Over 60% approved of premarital sexual intercourse when the partners were in love or engaged. There was no significant gender difference in sexual permissiveness. Most of the men and women had engaged in kissing, necking, and petting, but most had not engaged in sexual intercourse. Gender differences were found in sexual experience: Chinese men were less experienced than Chinese women. Sexual permissiveness and experience were related to level of acculturation. Those who dated only Caucasians were more sexually experienced than those who dated only Chinese. Results are discussed in terms of differences in sexual attitudes and behaviors between Caucasian Americans and Chinese Americans and in terms of acculturation.

Ethnic and gender differences in sexuality: Variations in sexual behavior between Asian and non-Asian university students

“…The percentage of Asians who had experienced intercourse in the present sample (35%) is comparable to that reported by Huang and Uba (1992) who found approximately 40% of Chinese college students in America had engaged in premarital intercourse. The age of first intercourse among non-Asians in the present sample was slightly lower than that reported by DeLamater and MacCorquodale (1979) who found a mean age of first intercourse of 17.5 and 17.9 years for males and females, respectively.…”

“…This finding held true for both Asian and non-Asian students and across length of residency in Canada among Asian students. The finding that there were no significant gender differences in interpersonal sexual behavior among Asian students differs from that of Huang and Uba (1992) who reported significant gender differences in kissing, necking, and both light and heavy petting behaviors in a small sample of Asian undergraduates in an American University. For example, 81% of females versus 55% of males reported having experienced light petting behavior (Huang and Uba, 1992).…”

“…To date, only one published study has examined the relation between American culture and the sexual behavior of young Chinese immigrants. In their 1982 survey of 114 Chinese students in America, Huang and Uba (1992) studied the relation between acculturation, as measured by Marmot's Acculturation Index (Marmot, 1975), and subjects' sexual attitudes and behavior. Acculturation was positively related to having experienced premarital intercourse and negatively related to the age at first coital experience; the more acculturated the respondent, the more likely the respondent was to have experienced sexual intercourse and to have done so at an early age.…”

Family, Peer, and Individual Correlates of Sexual Experience Among Caucasian and Asian American Late Adolescents

“…Most studies have focused on Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics and have rarely included Asian Americans. Despite a steady increase in the Asian American population in general and on college campuses in particular (Cochran et al, 1991;Huang & Uba, 1992;Sue, 1982), data regarding the sexuality of Asian American youth are still scant, and studies often yield conflicting findings. On the one hand, some researchers describe Asian American sexuality as marked by "conservatism," as revealed by Asian Americans' reluctance to disclose their views about sex (Erickson & Moore, 1986, cited in Chan, 1994 and their reported low level of engagement in sexual behavior (Cochran et al, 1991;Huang & Uba, 1992).…”

“…Despite a steady increase in the Asian American population in general and on college campuses in particular (Cochran et al, 1991;Huang & Uba, 1992;Sue, 1982), data regarding the sexuality of Asian American youth are still scant, and studies often yield conflicting findings. On the one hand, some researchers describe Asian American sexuality as marked by "conservatism," as revealed by Asian Americans' reluctance to disclose their views about sex (Erickson & Moore, 1986, cited in Chan, 1994 and their reported low level of engagement in sexual behavior (Cochran et al, 1991;Huang & Uba, 1992). For example, in Cochran et al's sample of 18-to 25-year-olds, 47% of Asian American respondents were sexually active; this rate was significantly lower than that of the Caucasian, African, or Hispanic Ameri-can comparison groups, and was also lower than national estimates of sexual experience among Caucasian 19-year-olds (54 % to 57%; Kahn, Smith, & Roberts, 1988).…”