Abstract
Internal migration in China has introduced critical challenges to the education and health of migrant adolescents. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in sexual knowledge and attitudes among migrate and local adolescents. Survey research with a total of 616 adolescents in grades equivalent to US 10th and 11th grades including 113 migrants completed a selfadministered questionnaire. Misconceptions of adolescent physical development, sexual activity, marriage, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases and the probability of pregnancy were found in most of the migrant adolescents. Significantly lower attitudinal scores were found for the sub-scales of clarity of personal sexual values, understanding of emotional needs, social behavior, sexual responses; attitudes towards gender role, birth control, premarital intercourse, use of force in sexual activity, the importance of family and satisfaction with social relationship in migrant adolescents. Migrant adolescents have a low level of knowledge of sexual activities. The content of education programs should include engagement in sexual behavior to equip adolescents with unbiased and factual knowledge. The adolescents have a high demand for family support. School based sex education programs should involve the participation of parents to address these issues.
Highlights
Sexual health and sexuality issues have become an increasingly important topic in China
This study investigated the sexual knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality of Chinese migrant adolescents and compared the issues for the Chinese migrant and local adolescents in Hong Kong, using a well-tested Chinese version of MSQ-A
Health educators can help in teacher training [40] and involved in different sex education programs to work with migrating adolescents and their parents. This is the first study to examine the differences in the sexual knowledge, attitudes and values towards sexuality of Chinese migrant adolescents in Hong Kong
Summary
Sexual health and sexuality issues have become an increasingly important topic in China. Tang and colleagues (2011) studied a sample of 5156 unmarried female workers in China with an average age of 20.2 years old, and found that they had a low level of sex-related knowledge, especially in the areas of contraceptive methods and HIV/STD transmission and prevention [1]. A study of the knowledge levels of safe sex among Mainland Chinese adolescents reported that only slightly more than half of the respondents could identify a method of contraception. Their knowledge levels of safe sex were generally low, especially among the rural population and migrants [4]. One third of them had been pregnant and most had had an induced abortion [7]
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