Evidence for a Comprehensive Sexuality Education Intervention that Enhances Chinese Adolescents ’ Sexual Knowledge and Gender Awareness and Empowers Young Women

AbstractWhile Chinese adolescents become more sexually active, their sexual attitudes are profoundly influenced by traditional gender and sexual norms. The tensions between the rapid transition in youth sexuality and lags in sex education call for a paradigm shift of sexuality education in China. The present study examined the effectiveness of a school-based empowerment comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) intervention in changing adolescents ’ sexual knowledge, gender and sexual attitudes, and sexual self-efficacy. We used data from a quasi-experimental intervention study with self-administered pretest and posttest surveys conducted among 1131 10th grade high school students in Lanzhou, northwest China. Whereas 583 participants in two intervention schools attended 12 45-min CSE sessions focusing on gender, rights, and critical thinking skills across 4–7 months, 548 participants in two comparison schools received no or limited conventional sex education. After controlling for differences in sociodemographics and in the influen ce of family, peers, and internet use between the two groups, female and male adolescents exhibited significantly more accurate sexual knowledge, stronger endorsement of nontraditional gender roles, and greater rejection of sexual double standards immediately after the intervention. Additionally, yo ung women reported significantly higher sexual self-efficacy following the intervention. The findings suggest that the school-based empowerment CSE ...
Source: Sex Roles - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research