Disparities of sexual orientations by sex and urban or rural residence among youth in China
Chao Guo A * , Lihua Pang A * , Lei Zhang A , Gong Chen A , Zhenjie Wang A and Xiaoying Zheng A BA Institute of Population Research/WHO Collaborating Centre on Reproductive Health and Population Science, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
B Corresponding author. Email: xzheng@pku.edu.cn
Sexual Health 13(5) 497-499 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH16041
Submitted: 12 March 2016 Accepted: 17 June 2016 Published: 19 August 2016
Abstract
This study explores the distribution of sexual orientations and examined disparities by sex and rural and urban residency of non-heterosexual youth, aged 15–24 years, in China. Data was derived from a 2009 nationally representative survey. Among 22 288 participants, 0.79% identified as homosexual, 1.47% identified as bisexual, and 4.26% were unsure about their sexual orientation. Compared with male youth and urban youth, female youth (adjusted odds ratio = 1.37, 95% confidence interval: 1.23–1.52) and rural youth (adjusted odds ratio = 1.23, 95% confidence interval: 1.09–1.40) were more likely to be non-heterosexual. More efforts should be made to enhance sex education and legal protection for non-heterosexual youth in China.
Additional keywords: gender, non-heterosexual, residence, sexual orientation, youth.
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