Adolescents' and Young Adults' Perception of Homosexuality and Related Factors in Three Asian Cities

Abstract

Purpose Adolescents’ and young adults’ perception of homosexuality plays an important role in the marginalization and stigmatization of the homosexual, thereby influencing his or her health. This article aims to study that perception and to examine its predictors in three Asian cities that are culturally dominated by Confucianism. Methods From May 2006 to January 2007, a cross-sectional survey of 17,016 adolescents and young adults, aged 15–24 years old, in both urban and rural sites of three Asian cities (Hanoi in Vietnam, Shanghai in the mainland of China, and Taipei in Taiwan) was conducted through interview and computer-assisted self-interview for sensitive questions. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression were performed to identify the predictors for their perception of homosexuality. Results The percentage of adolescents and young adults who hold a positive view of homosexuality (i.e., thought it was normal and/or acceptable) was low, especially in Hanoi and Shanghai; these figures increased from Hanoi to Shanghai to Taipei for both males and females. Overall, those factors significantly associated with adolescents’ and young adults’ perception of homosexuality included individuals’ demographic characteristics (urban/rural, age, economic status, student status, and educational level), preferred origin of movies/videos, self-identified sexual orientation, sexual and reproductive health knowledge, family values, gender role values, and attitudes toward premarital sex. Conclusions In these three Asian cities composed of populations whose views are largely influenced by Confucianism, adolescents and young adults mainly hold a negative perception of homosexuality. The most common and important predictors for a respondent's perception of homosexuality were his or her knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and how traditional his/her values may be. Greater attention needs to be paid to the popularization of knowledge about sexual and reproductive health including homosexuality—and to efforts aimed at instilling more liberal attitudes to improve adolescents’ and young adults’ perception of homosexuality. This could then reduce the marginalization and stigmatization of the homosexual, and thus improve his/her health.

Homophobic Attitudes and Associated Factors Among Adolescents: A Comparison of Six Latin American Countries

“…Similarly as with adults, studies including adolescent samples have found associations between homophobic attitudes and being male (Flood & Hamilton, 2005;Greniez & García, 2008;Horn, 2006;Poteat et al, 2013;Van de Ven, 1994), religious fundamentalism (Marsiglio, 1993), low socio-economic backgrounds (Feng, Lou, Gao, Tu, Cheng, Emerson & Zabin, 2012) and low education (Feng et al, A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t HOMOPHOBIC ATTITUDES IN LATIN-AMERICA 6 2012; Marsiglio, 1993). Contrary to what has been found with adults, these studies have shown that older adolescents or young adults seem to be more tolerant of homosexuality than younger adolescents (Feng et al, 2012;Flood & Hamilton, 2005;Greniez & García, 2008;Horn, 2006;Marsiglio, 1993;Van de Ven, 1994).…”

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“…O discurso dominante a associa ao pecado, crime, perversão, doença, anormalidade. Na área da saúde, a temática que se destaca é a questão da Síndrome da Imunodeficiência Adquirida (AIDS) e da vulnerabilidade ao Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana (HIV) relacionadas à homossexualidade masculina (4) . Essa realidade é demonstrada nos discursos dos adolescentes, os quais refletem o preconceito velado, bastante comum nos tempos atuais.…”

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Educação Sexual Em Discurso: Percepções De Professores E Alunos

“…É sabido que a expansão das doenças sexualmente transmissíveis e o crescente número de gravidezes inoportunas na adolescência são problemas sociais que se relacionam diretamente com o estudo da sexualidade. Não são menos graves aqueles que sofrem sua influência indireta, embora marcante, como a violência de gênero e a violência relacionada às orientações sexuais (TAQUETTE, 2010;FENG et al, 2012).…”