What Do Education and Work Mean? Education, Nonfamilial Work/living Experiences and Premarital Sex for Women in Taiwan

Abstract

This study examines the impact of microlevel factors including education nonfamilial employment and nonfamilial living arrangements on the transition to sexual experience among Taiwanese women in the context of the transition to adulthood. Chinese men have historically had and continue to have greater sexual freedom than Chinese women. Modernization has led to greater autonomy for women and a decline in arranged marriages. Chinese culture identifies entry into adulthood by entry into marriage. Premarital sex may occur at any time after the couple has made a commitment until the formal engagement ceremony. The theoretical framework is based on a life course approach. The education variables include both school attendance and the amount of schooling. Data were obtained from the 1986 KAP survey and a subsample of women born during 1946-60. Findings from the logistic model reveal that school attendance was a significant factor explaining the first premarital sex after controlling for nonfamilial employment and living arrangements. First premarital sex was more likely to occur among Taiwanese women who had finished their schooling. Educational levels among women who had completed their schooling showed an insignificant and unsystematic relationship to the likelihood of premarital sex. Findings confirm that educational level did not significantly explain age-specific incidence of premarital sex alone or after controlling for nonfamilial living arrangements and employment. Cross-sectional analysis reveals that autonomy of dating was a strong determinant of first premarital sex after engagement. The combined effects of nonfamilial work and living arrangements were statistically significant at most ages. The author urges that researchers understand what education means within a culture before designing studies and drawing inferences or conclusions.

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