Comparison of Sexual Knowledge, Attitude, and Behavior between Female Chinese College Students from Urban Areas and Rural Areas: A Hidden Challenge for HIV/AIDS Control in China.

Min Chen,Weihua Pan,Xiaofei Ye,Wenjie Fang,Yong Liao,Qinglong Tang,Nan Hong,Jianjun Li,Wanqing Liao,Jia Liu

doi:10.1155/2016/8175921

Abstract

Currently, research in sexual behavior and awareness in female Chinese college students (FCCSs) is limited, particularly regarding the difference and the influencing factors between students from rural areas and urban areas. To fill the gap in available data, a cross-sectional study using anonymous questionnaires was conducted among 3193 female students from six universities located in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, China, from February to June, 2013. Of the 2669 respondents, 20.6% and 20.9% of the students from urban and rural areas, respectively, reported being sexually experienced. The proportion of students who received safe-sex education prior to entering university from rural areas (22.4%, 134/598) was lower (P < 0.0001) than the proportion from urban areas (41.8%, 865/2071). Sexual behavior has become increasingly common among FCCSs, including high-risk sexual behavior such as unprotected commercial sex. However, knowledge concerning human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) transmission and the risks is insufficient, particularly for those from rural areas, which is a challenge for HIV/AIDS control in China. The Chinese government should establish more specific HIV/AIDS prevention policies for Chinese young women, strengthen sex education, and continue to perform relevant research.

Highlights

China has been divided into a dual-structure society for decades, where those living in rural areas typically have lower-quality educations and lower-income jobs than those living in urban areas [1,2,3]
This result suggested to us that the students from rural areas engaged in the same level of sexual activity as those from urban areas, which was in accordance with the result from a recent study in South Africa [19]
We inferred that female Chinese college students (FCCSs) from rural areas might be more likely to engage in sexual behavior if they fell in love, which might explain why a higher proportion of these students in our study preferred to live in off-campus apartments

Summary

Introduction

China has been divided into a dual-structure society for decades, where those living in rural areas (approximately 50.3% of the population) typically have lower-quality educations and lower-income jobs than those living in urban areas [1,2,3]. Dating from the 1980s, China has experienced dramatic social and cultural changes due to the open-door policy and economic reforms. Chinese attitude and behavior regarding sex have profoundly changed, including topics such as premarital sex, extramarital sex, and homosexual behavior, especially in the younger generation [4,5,6,7]. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence remains relatively low (

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion