Dual Employment System-Related Contextual Impact of Safe/Unsafe Sexual Practices for HIV Prevention: A Chinese Perspective

Abstract

China's dual employment system plays a crucial role in HIV/AIDS-related safe/unsafe sexual practices and AIDS prevention among the self-employed young population (officially called getihu). This field study on STD/AIDS-related unsafe sexual practices among young men in Sichuan, China, examines social and psychological determinants related to safe/unsafe sexual practices for STD/AIDS infection. The study indicates that contextual variables associated with the dual employment system moderate the impact of knowledge, beliefs, and safe/unsafe sexual behavior among self-employed Chinese young men. Self-employed young men are more likely than state-employed population to engage in unprotected sex with casual sexual partners. Potentially, risk may also rapidly extend into the broader non-self-employed populations as more state-employed people become involved not only in self-employed men's socioeconomic activities but also in their unconventional socio-sexual practices particularly, as China's social restructuring continues and many state-employed people are laid off. This collective vulnerability to STD/AIDS due to the current socio-sexual practices among the getihu young people has created a new frontier for STD/AIDS prevention in today's China, as well as demonstrates the importance of collective action with STD/AIDS prevention strategies within employment relevant social and subcultural contexts.