OF HONG KONG Attitude towards dating and sexual behaviour in Chinese adolescents : An investigation into the impacts of parental control

This study explores the influence of parenting practices, parent-child relationship, sex education at home, perceived parental disapproval of early sexual intercourse as well on dating and sexual behaviour among 381 adolescents (195 males and 186 girls) ranging in age from 10 to 19 years old. Data are collected in Hong Kong by using questionnaire. Parenting practices are measured in two dimensions: psychological control and behavioral control which includes knowledge, expectation, monitoring and discipline. Chi-square analysis, independent t-tests and one-way ANOVA are used to test the independence, association and effect. Results reveal that parent-child relationship is associated with dating and sexual intercourse while perceived paternal disapproval of early sexual intercourse is related to abstinence of early sexual intercourse among adolescents’ girls only. However, psychological control and behavioural control are not associated with dating and sexual intercourse. Adolescents who are currently dating or had experience of sexual intercourse are more likely to spend less time on studying and family. Age and educational differences are found in dating as well as in sexual intercourse in both genders. Older adolescents are more likely to have experience of dating and sexual intercourse than younger one. Attitude towards dating 4 Table of contents Page No. Acknowledgements 2 Abstract 3 Table of contents 4 List of illustrations 5 Chapter 1: Literature Review 1.1 Adolescence 6 1.2 Adolescent Sexuality 11 1.3 Parenting Practices 15 Psychological control 16 Behavioural control 17 Sex education at home 19 1.4 Relationship and other family factors Parent-Child relationship 20 Parents’ SES & educational level 21 1.5 Individual factors Perceived parental dis/approval of early sexual intercourse 22 1.6 Hong Kong Situation 23 1.7 Research Questions 25 Chapter 2: Methodology 26 Chapter 3: Results 3.1 Background information of participants 33 3.2 Students’ dating experience 34 3.3 Students’ dating attitude 37 3.4 Students’ sexual intercourse 39 3.5 Students’ sexual attitude 41 3.6 Students’ sexual knowledge 42 3.7 Relationship with parenting factor and dating 42 3.8 Relationship with individual factor and dating 44 3.9 Relationship with parenting factor and sexual intercourse 45 3.10 Relationship with individual factor and sexual intercourse 48 Chapter 4: Discussions 50 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Limitations 58 References 60 Attitude towards dating 5 List of illustrations Figures Page No. Figure 1: Conceptual framework of this study 16 Figure 2: Distribution of age of participants by gender 30 Figure 3: Distribution of age of first date by gender 31 Figure 4: Distribution of age of first sex by gender 37 Tables Table 1: Distribution of Participants by gender and age 26 Table 2: Distribution of Participants by school grades 26 Table 3: Frequencies and χ2 results for students who had dating 32 experience with age, gender and grade. Table 4: Mean score and t-test results of paternal and maternal control 40 Table 5: Mean score and ANOVA results of students’ perception of 43 parental disapproval of early sexual intercourse Attitude towards dating 6 Chapter 1: Literature Review Adolescence Adolescence, a transitional period between childhood and adulthood, is a period when teenagers experience three fundamental changes – biological, cognitive and social (Steinberg, 1999). According to Hill (1983), puberty begins, advanced thinking abilities emerge and new roles take up in this period. (as cited in Steinberg, 1999). These changes provide numerous developmental opportunities for adolescents to make different decisions that have important implications for their life. In order to have a better understanding about adolescence, two classical theoretical approaches can best explain how this transition takes place, which are psychoanalytic approach and social-psychological approach. The psychoanalytic approach highlights the processes of ‘individuation’ and ‘disengagement’. In these processes, the individual’s awakening sexuality leads him or her to look outside the family setting for appropriate ‘love objects’ and weakens the emotional ties with their parents (Blos, 1979). Besides, the social-psychological approach concerns the process of socialization. It is the process whereby individuals learn values, standards and form beliefs through the agents of socialization such as parents, teachers, peers and media (as cited in Coleman & Hendry, 1990). At this stage, teenagers face many challenges and uncertainties. It is the time of identity formation and a period of “storm and stress” that produces conflicts between Attitude towards dating 7 the generations which stated by Erik Erikson (1963) and G. Stanley Hall (1916) respectively. It is a period characterized by exploration and decision-making. Self-reliance, self-control and the capacity for independent decision making are all increased over this course (Feldman & Elliott, 1990). It involves gaining autonomy, assuming responsibility and making choices about family, peers, schooling, love and career (Furstenberg, 2000). In this period, adolescents may easily feel frustrated and nervous to act like an adult and make many decisions. Most likely, they feel tension between dependency on their parents and the need of independence and autonomy. One of the key tasks for the adolescent is the development of independence or autonomy in respect of family relationships. The goal of every teenager is to be free from parental restraint and to achieve control over one’s own life (Coleman, 2000). Middle adolescence is the stage that the most intense negotiations take place regarding autonomy (as cited in Coleman, 2000). Teenagers at this stage are in the most need of establishing their right to gain freedom while at the same time it is the stage for parents when they least wish to lose control. In the Larson, Richards, Moneta, Holmbeck and Duckett’s study (1996), it found that the overall time spent with the family decreased throughout the teenage years but time spent with mothers and fathers on a one-to-one basis hardly changed at all between age 10 to 18. Feldman and Quatman had given two explanations for early expectations of autonomy. The first one is related to personal growth, maturity & a sense of responsibility. The second one is Attitude towards dating 8 ‘pseudoautonomy’ which means too-early detaching from parental guidance and supervision. They also mentioned the importance of relationships between autonomy timetables and outcomes such as misconduct and lack of restraints (Feldman & Quatman, 1988). Lamborn and Steinberg (1993) argued that young people who score highly on measures of autonomy but also see their parents as unsupportive would be more at risk than autonomous adolescents who have supportive parents. However, Fuhrman and Holmbeck (1995) took the different viewpoints. They believe that it is only under conditions of family pressure. This facilitates adolescents to cope and to find support outside the family but it is only under conditions of positive parental relationships. Teenagers also want to experience adult-like life by having sexual activity . Many teenagers view sexual activity as a way to develop adult identity. They look for validation from opposite sex. Sexual behaviour also gives ways to challenge and confront parents who have opposite stand toward independence (Musick, 1993). There are several theories which are widely used to explain the phenomenon of romantic relationship and sexual behaviour among adolescents. Problem behavior theory (PBT; see Jessor & Jessor, 1977) is a psychosocial model. According to Jessor (1991), PBT consists of three independent systems of psychosocial components: the perceived-environment system, the personality system and the behavior system. In this study, parenting process is categorized by the perceived-environment system; Attitude towards dating 9 satisfaction of parental control, age expectation of autonomy and sexual self-efficacy are categorized by the personality system and age of first sexual intercourse is categorized by the behavior system. Jessor and colleagues (1991) assumed that dating and early sexual intercourse stem from an individual’s affirmation of independence and autonomy from parents. Additionally, many adolescents view dating and sexual activity as a way to develop adult identity (Melchert & Burnett, 1990; Musick, 1993), so they look to the opposite sex for validation and approval. Sexual behavior also provides a means of challenging parents on the way toward independence (Musick, 1993). The following two theories, include McCabe’s theory of adolescent dating and behavioral-ecological model, are good to demonstrate the importance of family in affecting adolescent dating and sexual behaviour. McCabe’s theory of adolescent dating (1984) explains why adolescents start to date when they grow up in terms of biological, social and situational factors (Tang & Zuo, 2000). It highlights interplay among maturation, social influences and opportunities which must appear in adolescence. Maturation causes a desire for sexual release and search for sexual identity during physiological and psychosocial changes. Despite the fact that everyone undergoes maturation, we are influenced by our society sometime unconsciously. Therefore, dating practices vary from one society to another. This brings another major force: social influence, which largely comes from parents, peers, media and religion. Opportunities such as time alone, unsupervised activities with deviant peers, the last major force, Attitude towards dating 10 together with maturation and social influence explain the difference in the dating and sexual experiences of sexually active and inactive adolescents. The behavioural-ecological model argues that risky sexual behavior is determined by proximal and distal factors within youngsters’ social-ecological systems and also by a ra