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Ethnic Identity and Sexual Initiation Among East Asian Youth in Canada

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Abstract

Despite the large number of East Asian youth in Canada, little is known about their health and risk behaviors. We examined the relationship between ethnic identity and sexual initiation among East Asians. This secondary analysis of a population-based survey selected 4,311 students in 7–12th grades who described themselves as East Asian (e.g., Chinese, Japanese, Korean). Gender-stratified logistic regression analyses examined whether ethnic identity was associated with sexual initiation, controlling for age, living situation, and cultural exposure. Boys with stronger commitment to their ethnic groups were less likely to have ever had sexual intercourse (aOR 0.80). Girls with higher levels of ethnic identity exploration were less likely to report sexual initiation (aOR 0.71). Stronger ethnic identity was associated with not having sexual intercourse among East Asian adolescents. The findings suggest the need to consider ethnocultural factors in future research and practice.

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Acknowledgments

The study was funded in part by Grant #HOA 80059 and #CPP 86374 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Saewyc, PI). The 2008 British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey was used with permission of the McCreary Centre Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, T201-2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2B5, Canada

    Yuko Homma, Sabrina T. Wong & Elizabeth M. Saewyc

  2. Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Sabrina T. Wong

  3. Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Bruno D. Zumbo

  4. McCreary Centre Society, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Elizabeth M. Saewyc

Authors
  1. Yuko Homma
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  2. Sabrina T. Wong
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  3. Bruno D. Zumbo
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  4. Elizabeth M. Saewyc
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Correspondence to Yuko Homma.

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Homma, Y., Wong, S.T., Zumbo, B.D. et al. Ethnic Identity and Sexual Initiation Among East Asian Youth in Canada. J Immigrant Minority Health 17, 1580–1584 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0101-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-014-0101-0

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