Table 1.
Mean age at first anal intercourse according to demographic characteristics among MSM in China
| Univariate regression | Multivariate regression | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (%) | Mean AFAI | Beta coefficient | p | Adjusted beta coefficient | pa | |
| Age cohort | ||||||
| 1940–1959 (53–72 years) | 151 (3.4) | 33.2 | 14.78 | <0.001 | 12.79 | <0.001 |
| 1960–1969 (43–53 years) | 352 (7.8) | 28.7 | 10.23 | <0.001 | 8.18 | <0.001 |
| 1970–1979 (33–43 years) | 787 (17.5) | 25.1 | 6.55 | <0.001 | 4.95 | <0.001 |
| 1980–1989 (23–33 years) | 2276 (50.7) | 21.1 | 2.61 | 2.31 | <0.001 | |
| 1990–1996 (16–23 years) | 925 (20.6) | 18.5 | Ref | Ref | ||
| Education | ||||||
| Secondary or below | 2113 (47.0) | 22.9 | Ref | Ref | ||
| Postsecondary | 2378 (53.0) | 21.7 | −1.16 | <0.001 | 0.07 | 0.677 |
| Sexual orientation | ||||||
| Homosexual | 2658 (59.2) | 21.7 | Ref | Ref | ||
| Bisexual | 1218 (27.1) | 23.7 | 1.49 | <0.001 | 0.99 | <0.001 |
| Heterosexual/unidentified | 615 (13.7) | 22.2 | 0.48 | 0.089 | 0.76 | 0.286 |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Unmarried | 3133 (69.8) | 20.6 | −6.46 | <0.001 | −1.17 | <0.001 |
| Living with male | 167 (3.7) | 20.6 | −6.49 | <0.001 | −2.04 | <0.001 |
| Marriage of convenienceb | 58 (1.3) | 23.5 | −3.60 | <0.001 | −1.04 | 0.102 |
| Divorced or widowed | 230 (5.1) | 26.7 | −0.42 | 0.319 | −0.54 | 0.121 |
| Married/living with female | 903 (20.1) | 27.1 | Ref | Ref | ||
| Ethnicity | ||||||
| Han | 4191 (93.3) | 22.3 | Ref | |||
| Minorities | 300 (6.7) | 21.8 | −0.49 | 0.191 | ||
| Occupation | ||||||
| Students | 565 (12.6) | 19.1 | −5.21 | <0.001 | −1.06 | 0.012 |
| Service industry workers | 1083 (24.1) | 21.5 | −2.78 | <0.001 | −0.89 | 0.001 |
| Government staff | 436 (9.7) | 23.0 | −1.31 | 0.001 | −0.41 | 0.201 |
| Factory workers | 495 (11.0) | 24.3 | Ref | Ref | ||
| Other occupation | 1638 (36.5) | 23.1 | −1.22 | <0.001 | −0.57 | 0.120 |
| Unemployed | 274 (6.1) | 22.6 | −1.73 | <0.001 | −0.42 | 0.315 |
| Monthly income (RMB) | ||||||
| No income | 768 (17.1) | 20.3 | Ref | Ref | ||
| 1–3000 | 2036 (45.3) | 22.8 | 2.48 | <0.001 | −0.47 | 0.155 |
| > 3000 | 1687 (37.6) | 22.6 | 2.28 | <0.001 | −0.50 | 0.160 |
AFAI: age at first anal intercourse; 1 USD~=6.2R MB.
Adjusted for source city, role in anal intercourse, gender of first partner, condom use in recent anal intercourse with a man, number of male partners in the past six months, commercial sex with either males or females in the past six months, vaginal intercourse with women in the past six months, condom use in recent vaginal intercourse with a woman, Rush or Ecstasy use, and any sexually transmitted infection history.
To hide homosexuality in cases where being openly gay is socially unacceptable, punishable or potentially detrimental, some gay men choose marriage for convenience. A gay man and a heterosexual woman or a gay man and a gay woman marry each other to create the appearance of heterosexuality.