Familism and the intent to practice safe sex among Chinese women living in the United States: an integrative model of behavioral prediction approach

ABSTRACT

Background: Asians living in the United States face unique HIV risk. From 2010 to 2017, the number of diagnosed HIV cases increased by almost 40% among Asians, while on average, the US has seen a 11% decrease in new HIV diagnoses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV and Asians. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/racialethnic/asians/index.html). Culture-sensitive beliefs, which are often neglected in health communication, might play a role in safe sex practice in this particular population.

Method: Utilizing the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction as a theoretical framework, this study looks into how acculturation to Chinese home culture contributes to Chinese immigrant women’s behavioral intention towards safer sex with a casual partner (N = 125). This relationship is proposed to be mediated by perceived social norms, attitude toward condom use, self-efficacy, and familism.

Results: Findings indicate that self-efficacy and favorable attitudes toward condom use were predictive of intent, and that the significant predictive role of home culture on behavioral intent was fully mediated by familism.

Conclusions: Future interventions should include strategies for enhancing Asian women’s self-efficacy for safe sex practices, cultivating a favorable attitude toward condom use, and emphasizing the home cultural values, specifically familism, that might increase their intent to practice safe sex.

KEYWORDS:

• Acculturation
• Chinese women
• condom use
• home culture
• IMBP

Ethical approval

The research was approved by the University of Southern California Institutional Review Board.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California in recruitment of participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yusi Xu

Yusi Xu is a doctoral candidate at USC Annenberg. Her interests are in the intersection of health communication and cultural studies, with a special focus on leveraging technology and cultural norms to address health disparities in vulnerable groups.

Lik Sam Chan

Lik Sam Chan (PhD, USC) is an assistant professor at the School of Journalism and Communication, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research addresses digital media, gender, sexuality, and culture.

Margaret L. McLaughlin

Margaret L. McLaughlin is professor of communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California. Her interests are in health and social media, HIV prevention, mobile communication, and technology acceptance.