Urban floaters: Examining the sexual risk behaviors among migrant youth in Shanghai, China.

摘要

Purpose: In China, STIs and HIV rates are increasing, with higher infection rates among migrants than other populations. Moreover, there is increased attention to the sexual and reproductive health of adolescents and young adults, in part due to increasing STI trends, as well as the changing sexual attitudes and behaviors among young people. This mixed-method dissertation adds to the literature by (1) determining the age of sexual initiation among non-migrant and migrant groups, (2) determining associations between migration status, condom use and contraceptive consistency, and (3) exploring the context of premarital sex and its influence on sexual attitudes and behaviors among migrants living in Shanghai, China.;Methods: This study uses both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data are from the cross-sectional Three City Study of Asian Adolescents and Young Adults conducted in 2006, including 6,299 15-24 year olds living in Shanghai. Analyses include descriptive statistics, survival analysis using time-varying effects and multivariate logistic regressions. In addition, qualitative data consists of 10 focus group discussions and 20 in-depth interviews with a total of 64 participants in Shanghai, China in the Fall of 2010.;Results: Study results suggest that rural-to-urban migrants and rural non-migrants were particularly vulnerable to sexual risk behaviors. Compared to urban non-migrants, rural-to-urban migrant and rural non-migrant young women, in particular, were at greater risk of earlier age of sexual initiation; rural-to-urban migrant men and rural non-migrant women were more likely to report unprotected sex and inconsistent contraceptive use with their first partners. Qualitative interviews suggested that migrants face urban discrimination, lack of social participation and contact, and greater engagement with entertainment such as nightclubs and commercial sex workers in cities.;Conclusions: Programs should target rural areas in order to educate young men and women before they leave their hometowns, as well as support young women who do not have the opportunity to migrate. In urban areas, a joint effort between public health professionals and local family planning departments is needed in order to gain the support of work employers and to provide work-based programs to reach migrant youth.