Childhood Sexual Contact in China

1. Childhood Sexual Contact in China Ye Luo, Ph.D., William L. Parish, Ph.D., Edward O. Laumann, Ph.D. University of North Florida, University of Chicago/NORC OBJECTIVES B. LONG-TERM EFFECTS Childhood sexual contact by age Sexual problems ● Provides national estimate of the prevalence of childhood sexual contact. ● Examines its long-term effects on sexual and general well-being. Hyper-sexuality Growing rate or more likely reporting? DATA Chinese Health and Family Life Survey 1999-2000 ● National stratified probability sample. ● Analytical sample: 1,519 women and 1,475 men aged 20-64 years in urban China. ● Public use data at http://www.src.uchicago.edu/prc/chfls.php Childhood sexual contact by father’s occupation Psychological well-being Higher % for clerical/self-employed, but not sig. Victimization in later sexual history MEASUREMENT “Did someone have sexual contact with you before you turned age 14? ‘Sex contact’ here includes vaginal intercourse (sleeping with someone or making love), caressing as well as other ways of stimulating genitals/female breasts.” CONCLUSIONS • Prevalence: • Lower rate compared to the West. • Higher rate among younger cohorts (is the rate growing?). • Lower rate among women than men (under-reporting?). • Similar rates for socioeconomic groups. • Long-term consequences: • Similar to the West. • Bimodal – leading both to heightened sexuality and to more sexual and psychological problems. • Policy implications: • Increase public awareness. • Remove the stigma associated with being abused. • Strengthen the reporting system. • Provide counseling and support to victims. A. PREVALENCE Childhood sexual contact by childhood residence Childhood sexual contact by gender and type Peer contact higher among men. Not sig. different. Notes: Percentages and odds ratios adjusted for sampling design. Adjusted odds ratios estimated with logistic regression of each sexual and psychological outcome measure on childhood sexual contact, controlling for age, father’s occupation and residence at age 14. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001. PAA Annual Conference, March 2007