Saturday, 15 January 2005 - 10:00 AM

This presentation is part of: Sexual Health and Addiction Services in Adolescents

Gender and acculturation differences in Asian American adolescents' sexual activity

Purpose: A number of researchers have demonstrated that higher levels of acculturation are associated with higher rates of risky sexual activities among ethnic minority youth. But previously published studies have not carefully explored how this relationship differs by gender. We investigate how level of acculturation predicts subsequent sexual intercourse, separately by gender, among Asian American adolescents.

Methods: Data are drawn from the National Longitudinal Adolescents Health data set. This is a prospective study, and our sample consists of a nationally representative sample of 687 Asian American adolescents in grades 7 to 12 (age under 19 years old). Our outcome measure is whether they have ever had sex. Measures at Wave I (in 1995) were used to predict subsequent sexual intercourse at Wave II (in 1996), employing logistic regression analysis. Four acculturation groups were created based on the use of English at home and place of birth.

Results: Among 687 Asian American adolescents (boys=366, girls=321), a total of 184 (boys = 86 (23%), girls = 98 (31%), reported having sexual intercourse. Lower levels of parental attachment and past experience of binge drinking were associated with subsequent sexual intercourse. However, there was a significant gender difference between acculturation and subsequent sexual intercourse. Among the Asian American girls, the most acculturated group was three times more likely to have reported subsequent sexual intercourse than the least acculturated group. Older age, past year’s binge drinking were also associated with subsequent sexual intercourse. However, a medium level of parental attachment and a high level of parental attachment decreased the odds of having sex. Among the Asian American boys, acculturation did not play any significant role in predicting subsequent sexual intercourse. As for the girls, older age and past year’s binge drinking increased the odds of subsequent sexual intercourse. For the boys, past year’s tobacco use also increased the odds of sexual intercourse. For the boys, only a high level of parental attachment was associated with lower odds of subsequent sexual intercourse.

Implications for practice and policy: These results demonstrate that the factors associated with sexual activity differ for girls and boys, and that among Asian American adolescents, the girls are more sexually experienced than boys. Though age and binge drinking are risk factors for both, there is an additional concern for girls who are most acculturated. These girls are more vulnerable to potential negative consequences. Clinicians need to give particular attention to assessing the level of acculturation among Asian American girls, and build on the strengths of a healthy parent-child relationship. Assessments regarding binge drinking and smoking are particularly important for working with boys. Further exploration of the differential impact of acculturation on gender roles and dating environments could be helpful for designing such appropriate interventions, including characterization of the partners of Asian American adolescents. Finally, preventive education about sexually transmitted infections needs to be improved for adolescents who are sexually active.

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