Abstract
International university students in New Zealand come from different regions of the world, and their cultures are heterogeneous. Their sexual health knowledge, attitudes and behaviour have been influenced by various factors such as culture, religion, values, beliefs, gender roles and level of exposure to sexual health education. South Asia is a low resource region that suffers from numerous sexual health-related issues due to low levels of sex education. Few studies have examined the sexual health of international students in New Zealand, specifically the sexual health of South Asian international students.
The current study examines the sexual health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of international university students in New Zealand, with a special focus on South Asian students. It also examines variations in the students’ sexual health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour by gender and region of secondary school education. The study sample is 181 international university students studying full-time at the University of Otago, Dunedin. A self-administered online survey was used to gather the data. Quantitative analysis was used to explore the levels and variations of sexual health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour among participants. The findings of the study are underpinned by two conceptual models: the socio-ecological framework and the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour (KAB) framework.
Many students had received sexual health information through their schools. About one-third of the sample had received sexual health information through pornography. The students lacked knowledge about symptoms of sexually transmissible infections and access to induced abortion in New Zealand. There was slight evidence of variation in students’ sexual health knowledge according to their gender. The students who had studied in South Asia had a lower level of sexual health knowledge than the students who had studied in the Global West, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. The study also found that the students’ attitudes towards sexual health partially varied by gender.
Many international students tended to initiate sexual activities after arriving in New Zealand. There is mixed evidence for gender and regional variations in the students’ sexual behaviours in New Zealand. More females than males engaged in vaginal sex behaviour in New Zealand. The students who had studied in South Asia were less likely to engage in oral sex behaviour than students from the Global West, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.
The study found that international university students encounter various sexual health-related issues, such as access to sexual health services. Some students reported that the main barrier to accessing sexual health services is unaffordability. I argue that the sources of sexual health information and accessibility to sexual health services must be culturally sensitive to cater to international students. I also argue that international university students should be provided with effective and affordable sexual health services during their stay in New Zealand. International university students are part of New Zealand society and contribute to the economy. Thus, it is important to ensure their sexual well-being. It is expected that the findings of this study will be used to design better sexual health services and sexual health awareness programmes which cater for international university students in New Zealand.