Mate Availability and Women's Sexual Experiences in China

Katherine Trent, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)
Scott J. South, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)

We use data from the 1999-2000 Chinese Health and Family Life Survey merged with community-level data from the 1982, 1990, and 2000 Chinese censuses to examine the relationship between the local sex ratio (number of men per 100 women) and sexual outcomes among women. Consistent with hypotheses derived from demographic-opportunity theory, logistic regression analyses show that women are more likely to have had recent and nonmarital sexual intercourse, to have been forced to have sex, and to test positive for a sexually-transmitted infection when there is a relative abundance of age-matched men in their local community. Education, birth cohort, and geographic location also emerge as significant predictors of women’s sexual experiences.