Chinese Adolescents

This study investigates the role of sex education in changing sexual attitudes and behaviors among adolescents in a developing nation where western influences and liberalizing norms have only taken hold over the last several decades. Based on pre- and post- intervention data from a “treatment” and “control” group study in suburban Shanghai, China, we investigate the effects of a comprehensive sex education program on adolescent sex attitudes and behavior. We found that while the intervention did not deter adolescents from initiating sexual activity, it had a significant effect on male adolescents’ attitudes about sex. In turn, attitudes influenced sexual initiation. In this way, the intervention program indirectly delayed the start of sexual behavior among Shanghai adolescents. Additionally, having sex makes adolescents have more favorable sex attitudes. This study suggests a diffusion pathway through which rapidly changing adolescent sexual behavior may be influenced in this cultural context.

Research Papers:

Wang, Bo, Sara Hertog, Ann Meier, Chaohua Lou, and Ersheng Gao. 2005. "Adolescent Sexual Behavior in China: Evaluating the Impact of a Sex Education and Reproductive Health Service Program in Suburban Shanghai." International Family Planning Perspectives 31(2): 63-72.

Wang, Bo, Ann Meier, Iqbal Shah, and Xiaoming Li. 2006. "The Impact of a Community-Based Comprehensive Sex Education Program on Chinese Adolescents' Sex-Related Knowledge and Attitudes," Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention in Children & Youth 7(2): 43-64.


			Ann Meier Assistant Professor Department of Sociology University of Minnesota, 1146 Social Sciences 267 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455 Tel: (612) 626-7230, Fax: (612) 624-7020 email: meierann@umn.edu
			Attitudes, Intervention and Sexual Initiation among Chinese Adolescents This study investigates the role of sex education in changing sexual attitudes and behaviors among adolescents in a developing nation where western influences and liberalizing norms have only taken hold over the last several decades. Based on pre- and post- intervention data from a “treatment” and “control” group study in suburban Shanghai, China, we investigate the effects of a comprehensive sex education program on adolescent sex attitudes and behavior. We found that while the intervention did not deter adolescents from initiating sexual activity, it had a significant effect on male adolescents’ attitudes about sex. In turn, attitudes influenced sexual initiation. In this way, the intervention program indirectly delayed the start of sexual behavior among Shanghai adolescents. Additionally, having sex makes adolescents have more favorable sex attitudes. This study suggests a diffusion pathway through which rapidly changing adolescent sexual behavior may be influenced in this cultural context. Research Papers: Wang, Bo, Sara Hertog, Ann Meier, Chaohua Lou, and Ersheng Gao. 2005. "Adolescent Sexual Behavior in China: Evaluating the Impact of a Sex Education and Reproductive Health Service Program in Suburban Shanghai." International Family Planning Perspectives 31(2): 63-72. Wang, Bo, Ann Meier, Iqbal Shah, and Xiaoming Li. 2006. "The Impact of a Community-Based Comprehensive Sex Education Program on Chinese Adolescents' Sex-Related Knowledge and Attitudes," Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention in Children & Youth 7(2): 43-64.
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Attitudes, Intervention and Sexual Initiation among Chinese Adolescents