Warning: Teens And Parents Not Talking Enough About Sex

A study into the population of East Asians in Canada has found that teens are unlikely to talk about sexual health with their parents, which is putting their wellness and wellbeing at risk. Although it was found that East Asian students were less likely to be sexually active, those who were sexually active were more likely to indulge in risky sexual behaviour.

The study has emerged from the University of B.C in Vancouver, and suggests that language and cultural barriers may be to blame for the lack of frank and open dialogue between parents and their children on the topic of sex. The study was published in The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality and has opened up further discussion about why East Asians may feel this taboo about sexual discussion between parents and teens.

It has become more commonplace for young people to be sexually active – in North America, around half of all students in Grades 9 and 10 say that they have had sexual intercourse. This 50 percent drops to only 10 percent, however, when looking solely at young people of East Asian heritage living in America and Canada.

Despite the low percentage of those actually engaging in sexual intercourse, those who do are at higher risk of unsafe practices. Around 70 percent of young East Asians who do have sex have some kind of other high risk behaviour. Around one in four say that they use alcohol or drugs as part of their sex life, over a third of them had had sex with multiple partners in the past 12 months, and over half of those surveyed had had sex without using a condom.

And seven out of those 10 reported high-risk behaviour, according to the study. One in four reported using drugs or alcohol, more than one third reported having had multiple partners in the last year, and more than half the girls surveyed had not used a condom.

It is thought that the more traditionally conservative cultures could be contributing to the problem, as children of this heritage were less likely to speak to their parents at home about sex or to be given advice about safe sexual practices.