ORIGINAL RESEARCH—PSYCHOLOGY: Acculturation and Sexual Function in Canadian East Asian Men

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of considering acculturation when investigating the sexuality of East Asian women in North America. Moreover, bidimensional assessment of both heritage and mainstream cultural affiliations provides significantly more information about sexual attitudes than simple unidimensional measures, such as length of residency in the Western culture. Aim The goal of this study was to extend the findings in women to a sample of East Asian men. Main Outcome Measures Self-report measures of sexual behaviors, sexual responses, and sexual satisfaction. Methods Euro-Canadian (N=124) and East Asian (N=137) male university students privately completed a battery of questionnaires in exchange for course credit. Results Group comparisons revealed East Asian men to have significantly lower liberal sexual attitudes and experiences, and a significantly lower proportion had engaged in sexual intercourse compared with the Euro-Canadian sample. In addition, the East Asian men had significantly higher Impotence and Avoidance subscale scores on the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction, a measure of sexual dysfunction. Focusing on East Asian men alone, mainstream acculturation, but not length of residency in Canada, was significantly related to sexual attitudes, experiences, and responses. Conclusion Overall, these data replicate the findings in women and suggest that specific acculturation effects over and above length of residency should be included in the cultural assessment of men’s sexual health.