Sexual Experiences and Their Correlates Among College Students in Mumbai City, India By Leena Abraham and K. Anil Kumar males. Furthermore, their focus has been Context: Isolated studies indicate that pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases are on the primarily on the extent of sexual behav- rise among unmarried teenagers in India. However, little research has focused on sexual be- ior among youth rather than on the cor- havior among unmarried young people, partly because of the assumption that it is governed by relates of that behavior. traditional norms. In this article, we explore heterosexual Methods: Results of a 1997 survey conducted among 966 low-income college students in met- behavior and its correlates among college ropolitan Mumbai (Bombay) are examined to identify levels of sexual behavior. Multivariate analy- students in the metropolitan city of Mum- sis is used to determine correlates of that behavior. bai (Bombay). Results: Some 47% of male participants and 13% of female respondents had had any sexual Methodology experience with a member of the opposite sex; 26% and 3%, respectively, had had intercourse. Data Individual-level characteristics such as age and personal income had modest effects on stu- The study is based on empirical data gath- dents’ sexual behavior, and family-level variables had no significant effects. The strongest pre- ered from a representative sample of low- dictors of sexual behavior were students’ knowledge about sexuality-related issues, attitudes income youth attending college in Mum- toward sex, and levels of social interaction and exposure to erotic materials. However, the re- bai. We focused on low-income students sults differed for young men and women, and the effect of knowledge was inconsistent. for several reasons. Existing studies are Conclusions: Traditional norms and the role of the family are losing their importance in govern- mainly of English-speaking students or ing young people’s sexual behavior in India. School-based sexuality programs are needed that those attending “elite” colleges, where the will provide students with accurate information about pregnancy, contraception and sexually trans- student body is predominantly middle- mitted diseases. International Family Planning Perspectives, 1999, 25(3):139–146 & 152 or upper-class. We assumed that students from low-income families may live in more restrictive family environments and ncreases in unintended teenage preg- the rise, especially in urban areas, where have fewer resources and opportunities nancies, the spread of reproductive an estimated 20–25% of unmarried young to explore their sexuality than those from tract infections and sexually transmit- males and 6–10% of unmarried young fe- higher income groups. Furthermore, I 1 ted diseases (STDs), and the imminent males have experienced premarital sex. whereas some elite colleges have been or- threat of an HIV epidemic in recent years Other studies indicate that while adoles- ganizing sexuality education programs for have increased the significance of sexual- cents’ attitudes toward premarital sex are their students, such programs are rare, if ity research in India. Yet, very few stud- becoming more liberal, their awareness of not absent, in colleges whose students are ies have examined sexuality and sexual contraceptives remains poor.2 largely from low-income families. behavior among unmarried youth in Studies on abortion and on the preva- Data were collected in two phases. Dur- India, for a variety of reasons. Since pre- lence of STDs in India, though few, confirm ing 1996, we gathered qualitative infor- marital sex is traditionally taboo in India, that much premarital sex is unprotected. mation, using focus-group discussions it is widely believed that the rather rigid Adolescents constitute a sizable propor- and interviews to gain an overview of stu- social norms governing premarital sex tion of women seeking abortions (more dents’ experiences, including their sexu- and marriage and the practice of sex seg- than one-quarter at some sites), and the al experiences. We used this information regation of young people prevent sexual typical adolescent abortion seeker is un- in designing the second phase of the study, behavior among them. It is also commonly married; additionally, unmarried women which consisted of a survey conducted assumed that family and educational in- tend to delay seeking abortion, often until during 1997. The findings discussed in this stitutions exercise greater control over the the second trimester, which could result article are based primarily on the survey, sexual behavior of unmarried youth in in serious health problems.*3 A study con- although some findings from the focus India than in the West. ducted among STD clinic patients in an groups and interviews are also included. For these reasons, and because young urban center noted that about 75% of people traditionally have entered marriage clients were 18–19 years of age.4 Sample Selection before or on attainment of puberty, pre- The few studies that have examined The study was conducted at four colleges marital sex has been rare in India. How- adolescent sexuality differ significantly that had predominantly low-income stu- ever, recent studies conducted in different from each other in their objectives, ap- dent bodies, were coeducational and of- parts of the country show that sexual be- proaches and methodologies. Recent re- havior among unmarried adolescents is on views of research on sexual behavior5 and *These findings come from hospital- or clinic-based stud- adolescent sexuality6 have cautioned that ies and include only legal abortions. However, the Unit- ed Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that out Leena Abraham is senior lecturer and K. Anil Kumar is these studies are limited and that their of the five million induced abortions performed annu- lecturer, both at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mum- findings cannot be generalized, because bai, India. The research on which this article is based was ally in India, 4.5 million are performed illegally. (Source: funded by The Rockefeller Foundation and coordinated they are based on very small samples or UNICEF, Children and Women in India: A Situational Analy- by the International Center for Research on Women. convenience samples, made up mainly of sis, New Delhi: UNICEF, 1991.) Volume 25, Number 3, September 1999 139 Sexual Experiences Among Students in Mumbai City fered both higher secondary (junior col- administering the questionnaire. Mem- milial ones, were students’ levels of knowl- lege) and undergraduate (senior college) bers of the research team briefed the stu- edge about issues related to sexual behav- courses in the arts, science and commerce.* dents about the purpose and significance ior; their attitude toward sex in general and These criteria assured representation of of the study; they also explained that re- toward premarital sex in particular; the de- students of both genders, of different age- sponses would be confidential and that gree of their social interaction; and their ex- groups and from the three main academ- participants were not required to put their posure to erotic materials. We assessed stu- ic programs. We identified colleges in names on the questionnaire. The students dents’ level of knowledge by asking 2–3 which the bulk of students were from low- were told that their participation was vol- questions seeking basic information that income families by asking local experts to untary, but none refused to take part. we assumed a young person attending an rank all colleges in Mumbai according to urban college would have about each of students’ socioeconomic status. Four col- Analytic Framework four topics (pregnancy, contraception, leges were consistently ranked as having Our analysis examines students’ sexual STDs, and HIV and AIDS);§ we then com- a mainly low-income student body; their behavior using two variables: any sexual bined the scores to classify the level of principals confirmed that classification. experience (defined as kissing, hugging, knowledge as low, moderate or high. We collected qualitative data at two col- touching sex organs or being touched, sex- We classified respondents’ attitudes as leges and conducted the survey at the ual intercourse, and anal and oral sex) and liberal, moderate or traditional on the other two. In the qualitative study, stu- sexual intercourse with a partner of the basis of students’ level of agreement (on dents either volunteered to participate (for opposite sex.† a five-point scale, ranging from “strong- focus groups) or were recruited by the re- We considered sexual intercourse sepa- ly agree” to “strongly disagree”) with 20 search team (for interviews). The survey rately because of the potential risks it car- statements related to sex and premarital was conducted among a representative ries. We examined any sexual experience sex. Statements such as “Masturbation is sample of students drawn from the 11th for several reasons. First, given societal at- unhealthy” and “Women do not enjoy sex standard and the third year of senior col- titudes toward sexual behavior among as much as men do” were used to con- lege; thus, the sample includes students youth, sexual experience could indicate lib- struct the scale for attitudes toward sex in just beginning college and those entering eral attitudes toward premarital sex. Fur- general. Those on premarital sex were in- their final year. thermore, too few young women reported tended to focus more closely on students’ The