Abstract
BackgroundChina is realizing increases in women engaged in premarital sex and multiple sex partner behavior. Our aim was to examine prevalence and determinants of multiple sex partner behavior among female undergraduates in China.MethodsAnonymously completed questionnaires were received from 4,769 unmarried female undergraduates, recruited using randomized cluster sampling by type of university and students' major and grade. Items captured demographic, family, peer and work influence, and student factors (major, academic performance, and sex-related knowledge and attitudes). To examine risk factors for sexual behaviors, we used multi-level logistic regression, yielding odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).ResultsOf 4,769 female students, 863 (18.10%) reported ever having sexual intercourse, and 5.31% reported having multiple sex partners (29.32% of all women having sexual intercourse). Several demographic, family, peer and work influences, and student factors (including major, performance, knowledge, and attitude toward sex) were risk factors for ever having sex. However, risk factors for multiple sex partners only included working in a place of entertainment, having current close friends that were living with boyfriends, poor academic performance, and positive attitudes toward multiple partners. These women also were more likely to practice masturbation, start having sex at a younger age, have sex with married men and/or men not their "boyfriends" at first coitus, and not use condoms consistently.ConclusionA small but important subset of Chinese female undergraduates is engaged in unprotected sex with multiple sex partners. Interventions need to target at risk women, stressing the importance of consistent condom use.
Highlights
China is realizing increases in women engaged in premarital sex and multiple sex partner behavior
About 10% of students reported that parents were relatively rich, that 5.54% were divorced, that 16.67% had a strict disciplinary style, and that 46.45% were disapproving of premarital sex
About 60% reported that close middle-school classmates and friends were disapproving of premarital sex, but 28% had middle-school friends who had fallen in love
Summary
China is realizing increases in women engaged in premarital sex and multiple sex partner behavior. Our aim was to examine prevalence and determinants of multiple sex partner behavior among female undergraduates in China. The prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has increased dramatically over the past few decades [7,8]. Transmitted HIV infections, for example, have increased in prevalence from 5.5% in 1997 to 19.8% in 2003 [9]. Active adolescents and young adult are vulnerable to HIV/STDs infection, and the United Nations estimates that about half of new HIV infections worldwide occur among people aged 15–24 years [11]. In China, more than 60% of all HIV infections are among people aged 15–29 years [3]
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