Abstract
HIV intervention and education efforts in China continue to be frustrated by the clear stigma associated with the disease inherent in Chinese culture. While modernizing and evolving rapidly, the Chinese sociocultural context continues to be influenced by traditional Confucian and Taoist philosophies. At the same time, there is growing tolerance of premarital and extramarital sex, particularly among younger groups as a result of their access to and interest in media and other resources exposing them to world outside traditional Chinese culture. The dangers of sexual behavior risk inherent in this changing environment are clear and worthy of serious attention. In this study, we address the issues surrounding a need for innovative and effective HIV/STD prevention efforts given the influence of social stigma, traditional values and expectations, a relative absence of reliable and trustworthy information about sexual health, and expanding and unguided exposure to information from outside sources. Identifying and working respectfully within the cultural belief systems dominant in the sociocultural context is as important to intervention design as a thorough evaluation of a target population’s needs, behaviors, and characteristics. Findings from a relatively young and uneducated sample expose and explicate the salient cultural schemata in this context, as well as how these schemata, coupled with the rapidly changing social environment, should inform intervention planning and implementation. We expect that the benefits of this study’s approach, framework, and findings can be incorporated into future intervention design among Chinese populations. These considerations will help guide a program’s effectiveness by enhancing the “fit” of the intervention to the target population and help boost program strength and sustainability.
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Lieber, E., Boutakidis, I., Chin, D. (2013). Stigma, Modernization, Sex Behavior, and Infection Risk Among Chinese Youth. In: Liamputtong, P. (eds) Stigma, Discrimination and Living with HIV/AIDS. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6324-1_14
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