Abstract
There is a substantial lack of information in the literature on affective and sexual behaviours in youths with migratory backgrounds, despite immigrants’ immediate descendants growing in recent years in many destination countries. In order to fill this gap, we use original information, collected by the “Sexual and Emotional Life of Youths (SELFY)” survey carried out in Italy in 2017. We aim to provide a deeper understanding of sexual behaviours by comparing, for the very first time, university students with a migratory background and their native counterparts, stratifying them by gender. Our results show that born-abroad male students have a greater exposure to more liberal attitudes than their native counterparts, while there are no notable differences between born-abroad and native women. Moreover, we analyse, among a number of factors, the association between three sexual behaviours (extra-couple sexual intercourse, occasional sexual intercourse, and numerous sexual partners) and multiple “risk” behaviours. Behaviours defined as “risky” include voluntary attitudes which can be responsible for negative outcomes. Our results show that reckless driving and drug use are directly associated with sexual behaviours, with no differences by gender or migratory status. The association of binge drinking and early sexual debut with the three considered sexual behaviours is largely present only among natives, while having problems with family and school rules have a gender-related role on sex.
Highlights
International migration is generating deep demographic transformations in several European destination countries, especially among young adults (Suárez-Orozco, Motti-Stefanidi, Marks, & Katsiaficas, 2018)
We aim to provide a deeper understanding of sexual behaviours by comparing, for the very first time, university students with a migratory background and their native counterparts, stratifying them by gender
The percentages of students that have experienced extra-couple sexual intercourse are higher among males than females and, in particular, among born-abroad students (33.5% for born-abroad males and 18.7% for born-abroad females, respectively)
Summary
International migration is generating deep demographic transformations in several European destination countries, especially among young adults (Suárez-Orozco, Motti-Stefanidi, Marks, & Katsiaficas, 2018). Even in countries with a relatively short history of immigration, youths with migratory backgrounds are growing faster in numbers and because they are becoming older. Whether they arrived at a very young age or were born from immigrant parents in destination countries, they attended higher education and experienced events of transition to adulthood. An increasing number of them are having their first affective and sexual experiences. Sexual behaviours performed during the youth of both migrants and non-migrants can affect health status and can determine specific lifestyles during adulthood and negative health outcomes in their lives (Parrado & Flippen, 2010). Young people with limited or no experience adopt in many cases behaviours without understanding the immediate or long-term consequences of their actions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
