Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

How Does Migration Affect HIV Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Involuntary Bachelors? The Mediating Roles of Neighborhoods and Social Networks

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Sexual Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The sex ratio imbalance in China since the 1980s has resulted in a large number of involuntary bachelors in rural China. Previous studies have found an association between migration and HIV sexual risk behaviors among involuntary bachelors, but how migration affects these bachelors’ HIV sexual risk behaviors remain poorly understood. Using data from a cross-sectional survey in 2017 (a sample of 740 male respondents who had rural household registration, had never been married, and were aged 28–49 years), we investigated the relationship between migration and HIV sexual risk behaviors. Logistic regressions show that migration, neighborhood characteristics, and social networks were significantly associated with commercial sex and multiple sex partners, whereas only neighborhood characteristics and social networks were positively correlated with sexual partnership concurrency. Neighborhood characteristics and social networks mediated the relationships of migration with commercial sex and migration with multiple sex partners. Social networks mediated the association between neighborhood characteristics and concurrency. Multiple-step mediation analysis showed that the indirect effect of migration on commercial sex and multiple sexual partners through neighborhood characteristics and social networks was significant. Our findings suggest that further interventions should address neighborhood characteristics and social networks together.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amirkhanian, Y. A. (2014). Social networks, sexual networks and HIV risk in men who have sex with men. Current HIV/Aids Reports, 11(1), 81–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city. W. W. Norton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrington, C., Latkin, C., Sweat, M. D., Moreno, L., Ellen, J., & Kerrigan, D. (2009). Talking the talk, walking the walk: Social network norms, communication patterns, and condom use among the male partners of female sex workers in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Social Science and Medicine, 68(11), 2037–2044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumer, E. P., & South, S. J. (2001). Community effects on youth sexual activity. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(2), 540–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berg, M. T., Burt, C. H., Lei, M. K., Simons, L. G., Stewart, E. A., & Simons, R. (2016). Neighborhood social processes and adolescent sexual partnering: A multilevel appraisal of Anderson’s player hypothesis. Social Forces, 94(4), 1823–1846.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berkman, L. F., Glass, T., Brissette, I., & Seeman, T. E. (2000). From social integration to health: Durkheim in the new millennium. Social Science and Medicine, 51(6), 843–857.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browning, C. R., Burrington, L. A., Leventhal, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2008). Neighborhood structural inequality, collective efficacy, and sexual risk behavior among urban youth. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 49(3), 269–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Browning, C. R., & Olinger-Wilbon, M. (2003). Neighborhood structure, social organization, and number of short-term sexual partnerships. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(3), 730–745.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burt, R. S. (1984). Network items and the general social survey. Social Networks, 6(4), 293–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, L., Meng, X., & Zhang, D. (2017). China’s sex ratio and crime: Behavioural change or financial necessity? The Economic Journal, 129(618), 790–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carpiano, R. M., Kelly, B. C., Easterbrook, A., & Parsons, J. T. (2011). Community and drug use among gay men: The role of neighborhoods and networks. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 52(1), 74–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B. (2005). Basic social influence is underestimated. Psychological Inquiry, 16(4), 158–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, R. B., Reno, R. R., & Kallgren, C. A. (1990). A focus theory of normative conduct: Recycling the concept of norms to reduce littering in public places. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(6), 1015–1026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davey-Rothwell, M. A., & Latkin, C. A. (2007). HIV-Related communication and perceived norms: An analysis of the connection among injection drug users. AIDS Education & Prevention, 19(4), 298–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davey-Rothwell, M. A., Siconolfi, D. E., Tobin, K. E., & Latkin, C. A. (2015). The role of neighborhoods in shaping perceived norms: An exploration of neighborhood disorder and norms among injection drug users in Baltimore, MD. Health & Place, 33, 181–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El-Bassel, N., Gilbert, L., Terlikbayeva, A., West, B., Bearman, P., Wu, E., Zhussupov, B., Platais, I., & Brisson, A. (2011). Implications of mobility patterns and HIV risks for HIV prevention among migrant market vendors in Kazakhstan. American Journal of Public Health, 101(6), 1075–1081.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, C. S. (1975). Toward a subcultural theory of urbanism. American Journal of Sociology, 80(6), 1319–1341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frye, V., Nandi, V., Egan, J. E., Cerda, M., Rundle, A., Quinn, J. W., Sheehan, D., Ompad, D. C., Tieu, H. V., Greene, E., & Koblin, B. (2017). Associations among neighborhood characteristics and sexual risk behavior among black and white MSM living in a major urban area. AIDS and Behavior, 21(3), 870–890.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gandhi, A. D., Pettifor, A., Barrington, C., Marshall, S. W., Behets, F., Guardado, M. E., Farach, N., Ardón, E., & Paz-Bailey, G. (2015). Migration, multiple sexual partnerships, and sexual concurrency in the Garífuna population of Honduras. AIDS and Behavior, 19(9), 1559–1570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gou, H. Y., Liu, H. J., Wang, Y., Li, X. M., & Feldman, M. W. (2021). Migration, social networks, and HIV sexual risk behaviors among involuntary bachelors in rural China. AIDS and Behavior, 25(3), 875–885.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynie, D. L., Silver, E., & Teasdale, B. (2006). Neighborhood characteristics, peer networks, and adolescent violence. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 22(2), 147–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu, Z., Liu, H., Li, X., Stanton, B., & Chen, X. (2006). HIV-related sexual behaviour among migrants and non-migrants in a rural area of China: Role of rural-to-urban migration. Public Health, 120(4), 339–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, K. S. (2014). Marriage squeeze in China: Past, present, and future. Journal of Family Issues, 35(12), 1642–1661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang, M. B., Ye, L., Liang, B. Y., Ning, C. Y., Roth, W. W., Jiang, J. J., Huang, J. G., Zhou, B., Zang, N., Powell, M. D., Liang, H., & Bond, V. C. (2016). Characterizing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(1), 30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, V. M., & Boer, A. (2002). A surplus of men, a deficit of peace: Security and sex ratios in Asia’s largest states. International Security, 26(4), 5–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennifer, M. B., Donald, H. B., & Wendee, M. W. (2020). Individual and relationship predictors of couple level sexual concurrency in heterosexual South African couples. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(3), 999–1015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang, Q. B., Feldman, M. W., & Li, S. Z. (2014). Marriage squeeze, never-married proportion, and mean age at first marriage in China. Population Research and Policy Review, 33(2), 189–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang, Q. B., & Sánchez-Barricarte, J. J. (2013). Socio-demographic risks and challenges of bare branch villages in China. Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 7(2), 99–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang, Q. B., & Zhang, C. L. (2021). Recent sex ratio at birth in China. BMJ Global Health, 6(5), e005438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jing, D., Luo, Y. T., & Ye, M. L. (2019). Research of infection conditions and risk factors of AIDS, syphilis among male migrants in Chongqing. Modern Preventive Medicine, 46(14), 2630–2633. In Chinese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalichman, S. C., & Simbayi, L. C. (2011). Multiple-recent sexual partnerships and alcohol use among sexually transmitted infection clinic patients, Cape Town South Africa. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 38(1), 18–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, B. C., Carpiano, R. M., Easterbrook, A., & Parsons, J. T. (2012). Sex and the community: The implications of neighbourhoods and social networks for sexual risk behaviors among urban gay men. Sociology of Health & Illness, 34(7), 1085–1102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latkin, C. A., Curry, A. D., Hua, W., & Davey, M. A. (2007). Direct and indirect associations of neighborhood disorder with drug use and high-risk sexual partners. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 32(6), S234–S241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latkin, C. A., Donnell, D., Liu, T. Y., Davey-Rothwell, M., Celentano, D., & Metzger, D. (2013a). The dynamic relationship between social norms and behaviors: The results of an HIV prevention network intervention for injection drug users. Addiction, 108(5), 934–943.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latkin, C. A., German, D., Vlahov, D., & Galea, S. (2013b). Neighborhoods and HIV: A social ecological approach to prevention and care. American Psychologist, 68(4), 210–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, H. J., Li, S. Z., & Feldman, M. W. (2012). Forced bachelors, migration and HIV transmission risk in the context of China’s gender imbalance: A meta-analysis. AIDS Care, 24(12), 1487–1495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, H. J., Wang, H., & Feldman, M. W. (2021). The risk of HIV/STDs infection and transmission among never married male migrants in China: Is risk attributable to bachelorhood or migration? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 50(7), 3115–3124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, L. G., Jin, X. Y., Brown, M. J., & Feldman, M. W. (2014). Involuntary bachelorhood in rural China: A social network perspective. Population, 69(1), 103–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo, Y. J., Liu, L., Lai, W. H., Liang, L., Liu, L. H., Hu, Y., & Pei, X. D. (2018). Analysis of HIV sentinel surveillance results among the floating population in Sichuan province from 2012 to 2015. Journal of Preventive Medicine Information, 34(5), 594–597. In Chinese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magis-Rodriguez, C., Lemp, G., Hernandez, M. T., Sanchez, M. A., Estrada, F., & Bravo-Garcia, E. (2009). Going north: Mexican migrants and their vulnerability to HIV. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 51, S21–S25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, J. C. (1969). The concept and use of social networks. In J. C. Mitchell (Ed.), Social networks in Urban Situations: Analyses of personal relationships in Central African towns (pp. 1–50). Manchester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, M., & Kretzschmar, M. (1997). Concurrent partnerships and the spread of HIV. AIDS, 11(5), 641–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2017). Statistical communiqué of the People’s Republic of China on the 2017 National Economic and Social Development. http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/zxfb/201802/t20180228_1585631.html

  • National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2021). Bulletin of the Seventh National Population Census: Urban and rural population and floating population. Retrieved from http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/tjgb/rkpcgb/qgrkpcgb/202106/t20210628_1818826.html

  • Parrado, E. A., & Flippen, C. A. (2010). Community attachment, neighborhood context, and sex worker use among Hispanic migrants in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Social Science and Medicine, 70(7), 1059–1069.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parrado, E. A., & Flippen, C. A. (2014). Migration, social organization, and the sexual partners of Mexican Men. Social Problems, 61(3), 380–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitts, M. K., Smith, A., Grierson, J., O’Brien, M., & Misson, S. (2004). Who pays for sex and why? An analysis of social and motivational factors associated with male clients of sex workers. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 33(4), 353–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poston, D. L., & Glover, K. S. (2005). Too many males: Marriage market implications of gender imbalances in China. Genus, 61(2), 119–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu, H. H., Chen, X. L., Hu, W., Tang, H. M., Fu, Y. Y., Pan, X. L., & Huang, P. (2018). Cumulative meta-analysis of HIV infection and AIDS-related behavior characteristics in China’s floating population. Journal of Nanchang University (medical Sciences), 58(5), 47–53. In Chinese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sampson, R. J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277(5328), 918–924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sharygin, E., Ebenstein, A., & Das Gupta, M. (2013). Implications of China’s future bride shortage for the geographical distribution and social protection needs of never-married men. Population Studies, 67(1), 39–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, C. R., & McKay, H. D. (1969). Juvenile delinquency and urban areas (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Johnson, C., Beaman, J., Conger, R. D., & Whitbeck, L. B. (1996). Parents and peer group as mediators of the effect of community structure on adolescent problem behavior. American Journal of Community Psychology, 24(1), 145–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • South, S. J., & Trent, K. (2010). Imbalanced sex ratios, men’s sexual behavior, and risk of sexually transmitted infection in China. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 51(4), 376–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland, E. H. (1947). Principles of Criminology (4th ed.). J. B. Lippincott.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, W. I., & Znaniecki, F. (1920). The Polish peasant in Europe and America. Boston: Gorham Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiruneh, K., Wasie, B., & Gonzalez, H. (2015). Sexual behavior and vulnerability to HIV infection among seasonal migrant laborers in Metema district, northwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsang, E. Y. H. (2019). Being bad to feel good: China’s migrant men, displaced masculinity, and the commercial sex industry. Journal of Contemporary China, 29(122), 221–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, J. D., Henderson, G. E., Wang, T. F., Huang, Y. Y., Parish, W., Pan, S. M., Chen, X. S., & Cohen, M. S. (2005). Surplus men, sex work, and the spread of HIV in China. AIDS, 19(6), 539–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tuljapurkar, S., Li, N., & Feldman, M. W. (1995). High sex ratios in China’s future. Science, 267(5199), 874–876.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turan, B., Budhwani, H., Fazeli, P. L., Browning, W. R., Raper, J. L., Mugavero, M. J., & Turan, J. M. (2017). How does stigma affect people living with HIV? The mediating roles of internalized and anticipated HIV stigma in the effects of perceived community stigma on health and psychosocial outcomes. AIDS and Behavior, 21(1), 283–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanlandingham, M., Knodel, J., Saengtienchai, C., & Pramualratana, A. (1998). In the company of friends: Peer influence on Thai male extramarital sex. Social Science and Medicine, 47(12), 1993–2011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C. T. (2009). Sex preference and determinants of contraceptive practice in married couples of reproductive age in China. Population and Development, 1(15), 48–59. In Chinese.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, K. W., Wu, J. Q., Zhao, H. X., Li, Y. Y., Zhao, R., Zhou, Y., & Ji, H. L. (2013). Unmarried male migrants and sexual risk behavior: A cross-sectional study in Shanghai, China. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., & Muessig, K. E. (2017). Social network correlates of HIV risk-related behaviors among male migrants in China. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warner, T. D., Giordano, P. C., Manning, W. D., & Longmore, M. A. (2011). Everybody’s doin’it (right?): Neighborhood norms and sexual activity in adolescence. Social Science Research, 40(6), 1676–1690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, W. J. (1996). When work disappears: The world of the new urban poor. Vintage Books.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, Q. Y., Liu, H. J., & Wu, B. (2020). How bachelorhood and migration increase the HIV transmission risk through commercial sex in China? AIDS and Behavior, 24(3), 791–801.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamanis, T. J., Fisher, J. C., Moody, J. W., & Kajula, L. J. (2016). Young men’s social network characteristics and associations with sexual partnership concurrency in Tanzania. AIDS and Behavior, 20(6), 1244–1255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, C., Latkin, C. A., Liu, P., Nelson, K. E., Wang, C., & Luan, R. (2010a). A qualitative study on commercial sex behaviors among male clients in Sichuan Province, China. AIDS Care, 22(2), 246–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, C., Latkin, C., Luan, R., & Nelson, K. (2010b). Peer norms and consistent condom use with female sex workers among male clients in Sichuan Province, China. Social Science and Medicine, 71(4), 832–839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, H., Li, X., Stanton, B., Liu, H., Liu, H., Wang, N., Fang, X., Lin, D., & Chen, X. (2005). Heterosexual transmission of HIV in China: A systematic review of behavioral studies in the past two decades. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 32(5), 270–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, X. S. (2005). Does where we live matter? Community characteristics and HIV and sexually transmitted disease prevalence in southwestern China. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 16(1), 31–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, X. S. (2014). Rural-urban migration and mental and sexual health: A case study in Southwestern China. Health Psychology & Behavioural Medicine, 2(1), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, X. Z., Kelly, B. C., & Yang, T. (2016). Together we have fun: Native-place networks and sexual risk behaviours among Chinese male rural-urban migrants. Sociology of Health & Illness, 38(4), 559–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, X. Z., Kelly, B. C., & Yang, T. (2020). Peer association and routine activities in sex worker patronage among male migrant workers. Deviant Behavior, 43(3), 322–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, X. Y., Li, S. Z., Attané, I., & Feldman, M. W. (2015). Commercial sex behaviors among involuntary male bachelors: Findings from a survey of migrants in Xi’an, China. Journal of Public Health, 37(2), 305–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, X. Z., & Yang, T. (2019). Nativity homogeneity in social networks and prostitution patronage among male migrant laborers. AIDS and Behavior, 23(5), 1339–1351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, X. Z., & Yang, T. (2020). Pathways to buying sex among migrant labors: The mediatory role of family bonds and peer deviance on social network homogeneity. The Sociological Quarterly, 61(4), 768–786.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, T. (2006). Cool masculinity: Male clients’ sex consumption and business alliance in urban China’s sex industry. Journal of Contemporary China, 15(46), 161–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Nature Science Foundation of China (71573202). Thanks to Dr. Qunying Xiao, Dr. Ying Wang and Dr. Min Zhao for their contribution on survey design and data collection.

Funding

We acknowledge financial support from the National Nature Science Foundation of China (71573202).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Population and Development Studies, School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an, 710049, Shaanxi Province, China

    Huanying Gou & Huijun Liu

  2. Institute for Population and Social Policy Studies, School of Management, Xi’an Polytechnic University, Xi’an, China

    Huanying Gou

  3. Department of Biology, Morrison Institute for Population and Resource Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Marcus W. Feldman

Authors
  1. Huanying Gou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Huijun Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marcus W. Feldman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

HG was involved in conceptualization, investigation, software, validation, writing, original draft preparation and visualization. HL was involved in funding acquisition, data curation, methodology and supervision. MWF was involved in writing—reviewing and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Huijun Liu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

We have no conflict of interest.

Ethics Approval

The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee, Xi’an Jiaotong University (No: 2016-415).

Consent to Participate

The workers who participated in this study gave written informed consent.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gou, H., Liu, H. & Feldman, M.W. How Does Migration Affect HIV Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Involuntary Bachelors? The Mediating Roles of Neighborhoods and Social Networks. Arch Sex Behav 52, 267–281 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02391-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02391-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation