TOPIC: Prevention & Education
OTHER KEYWORDS: Asian Americans, Heterosexual, Youth
TITLE: Sexual practices of heterosexual Asian American young adults: implications for risk of HIV infection
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cochran SD, Mays VM, Leung L.. Sexual practices of heterosexual Asian young adults: implications for risk of HIV infection. Archives of Sexual Beh. 1991; 20 (4): 381-391.
SUMMARY
This study explores rates of sexual activity and patterns of sexual behavior in a sample of young, unmarried, heterosexual Asian Americans. Little is known empirically about the sexual behaviors of Asian Americans. Epidemiological patterns of reported AIDS cases suggest that at present Asian Americans in the United States are an ethnic minority group at lower risk for HIV infection than blacks, Hispanics, or whites. The study results suggest that previously reported sexual conservatism within this ethnic group may be limited to the initiation of sexual activity. Once sexually active, behaviors appear to be similar to their non-Asian counterparts and facilitative of HIV infection should the virus become widely distributed within the young, heterosexual population. This underscores the need for HIV prevention interventions directed toward this ethnic minority group despite current low rates of HIV infection.