'Hu Hong' (bad thing): parental perceptions of teenagers' sexuality in urban Vietnam

http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/29673

Background: Teenagers under 18 years old in Vietnam are considered as minors who usually lack the autonomy to make decisions.

They are also sometimes viewed as contributors to social evils including crime, violence and substance use. Moreover, most Vietnamese teenagers have unsafe sex before marriage. 

The objective of this study is to explore the parental perceptions relating to their teenagers' sexuality, particularly the social and cultural forces, that may hinder access to sexuality information.

Methods: Guided by a Community Advisory Board (CAB), this qualitative study uses four focus group discussions (FGDs) consisting of 12 mothers and 12 fathers, as well as twelve individual in-depth interviews (IDIs) with a diverse sample of parents of teens in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam.

Content and discourse analysis were conducted, based on Foucauldian concepts.

Results: Four themes emerged:

1) Meanings of sexuality and sexuality education,

2) Early sexual intercourse destroys teenagers' future,

3) Teenagers are not hu hong (spoil/bad thing), are innocent and virgin, and

4) Policing and controlling of sexual intercourse among teens. 

Parents did not view their teenage children as sexual beings; those who are sexual are considered hu hong. Parents believed that teens need to be policed and controlled to prevent them from becoming hu hong, particularly girls.

Controlling of sexuality information by parents was therefore common in HCMC, but differed by gender and educational levels of parents. For example, fathers more than mothers were not comfortable teaching their teenage children about sex and sexuality.

Parents with higher education police their teenage children's usage of the Internet and social media, while parents with lower education control who can be friends with their teenage children.

Conclusions: Vietnamese parents in general have negative views of sex and sexuality education for their teenage children.

Recognizing that many Vietnamese teenagers have unsafe sex before marriage, parents need to change their perceptions and understand the importance of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), which are included in UNESCO, UNFPA and UNICEF-developed CSE tools.

Title: 

	'Hu Hong' (bad thing): parental perceptions of teenagers' sexuality in urban Vietnam
Authors:	Do Thi Lan Anh Boonmongkon, Pimpawun Paek, Seung Chun
Keywords:	Teenagers Sex and sexuality Sexuality education Urban Vietnam Parental perceptions
Issue Date:	2017
Publisher:	BIOMED CENTRAL LTD, 236 GRAYS INN RD, FLOOR 6, LONDON WC1X 8HL, ENGLAND
Citation:	ISIKNOWLEDGE
Abstract:	Background: Teenagers under 18 years old in Vietnam are considered as minors who usually lack the autonomy to make decisions. They are also sometimes viewed as contributors to social evils including crime, violence and substance use. Moreover, most Vietnamese teenagers have unsafe sex before marriage. The objective of this study is to explore the parental perceptions relating to their teenagers' sexuality, particularly the social and cultural forces, that may hinder access to sexuality information. Methods: Guided by a Community Advisory Board (CAB), this qualitative study uses four focus group discussions (FGDs) consisting of 12 mothers and 12 fathers, as well as twelve individual in-depth interviews (IDIs) with a diverse sample of parents of teens in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. Content and discourse analysis were conducted, based on Foucauldian concepts. Results: Four themes emerged: 1) Meanings of sexuality and sexuality education, 2) Early sexual intercourse destroys teenagers' future, 3) Teenagers are not hu hong (spoil/bad thing), are innocent and virgin, and 4) Policing and controlling of sexual intercourse among teens. Parents did not view their teenage children as sexual beings; those who are sexual are considered hu hong. Parents believed that teens need to be policed and controlled to prevent them from becoming hu hong, particularly girls. Controlling of sexuality information by parents was therefore common in HCMC, but differed by gender and educational levels of parents. For example, fathers more than mothers were not comfortable teaching their teenage children about sex and sexuality. Parents with higher education police their teenage children's usage of the Internet and social media, while parents with lower education control who can be friends with their teenage children. Conclusions: Vietnamese parents in general have negative views of sex and sexuality education for their teenage children. Recognizing that many Vietnamese teenagers have unsafe sex before marriage, parents need to change their perceptions and understand the importance of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), which are included in UNESCO, UNFPA and UNICEF-developed CSE tools.
Description:	TNS07068 ; BMC PUBLIC HEALTH Volume: 17 Article Number: 226 Published: FEB 28 2017
URI:	http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/29673
ISSN:	1471-2458
Appears in Collections:	Bài báo của ĐHQGHN trong Web of Science