Self-reported sexual orientation among undergraduates of 10 universities in Guangzhou, China.

Yuan Yan,Pierre Chue,Shuiyuan Xiao,Haihong Liu,Olalekan Uthman

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201817

Abstract

Few studies have investigated the distribution of sexual orientation among Chinese university students and identified the socio-demographic factors associated with sexual orientation. For the present study, we administered a paper-based, 5-point, self-report, sexual orientation scale to a stratified, random sample of 9071 undergraduates across all 10 universities in Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, China. Multivariable ordinal regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between demographic factors and sexual orientation. A total of 8320 respondents completed the survey. Of 8182 valid respondents, 80.6% self-reported as exclusively heterosexual, 12.6% self-reported as mostly heterosexual, 5.4% self-reported as bisexual, 0.7% self-reported as mostly homosexual, and 0.8% self-reported as exclusively homosexual. About one fifth of male students and one fourth of female students reported some degree of divergence from exclusive heterosexuality. This indicates that in China there are a large number of university students who are potentially involved in same-sex sexual attraction.

Highlights

Sexual orientation largely emerges in adolescence and stabilizes in early adulthood [1] and represents a subjective internal experience which plays a crucial role in the construction of an individual’s self-concept [2]
The proportions of freshman, sophomore, junior and senior was 32.4%, 30.1%, 25.8% and 11.7%, respectively. 52.8% of the sample were majoring in Humanities and Social Sciences, 47.2% were majoring in Natural Sciences (Table 1)
The results imply that in China there are a large number of university students who self-report as non-exclusively heterosexual, which may influence their attitude on same-sex sexual behaviors

Summary

Introduction

Sexual orientation largely emerges in adolescence and stabilizes in early adulthood [1] and represents a subjective internal experience which plays a crucial role in the construction of an individual’s self-concept [2]. Together with culture, plays a role in moderating sex differences in personality traits and occupational preferences [3,4,5]. The sexual orientation of youth has attracted interest in many countries, such as the United States of America (USA) and China. In the USA, sexual orientation questions have been added to statewide public health surveillance [7].

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion