Survey of sexual knowledge，attitudes and behaviors on 3-6 years old children in kindergartens in Changping District, Beijing / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To understand the current situation of sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of young children in kindergarten, based on the framework of comprehensive sexuality education.@*Methods@#Totally 354 children between the ages of 3-6 from two kindergartens in Changping District, Beijing, participated in one-to-one interviews. There were 164 girls and 190 boys.@*Results@#In the dimension of physical development, no child knew the scientific name of reproductive organs. In the dimension of social emotion, 44.07% of children could express love to their friends, and 40.68% of children could express their refusal when they were unwilling. In the dimension of sexual health, well-being and sexual rights，81.92% of children knew that they couldn t touch other people s genitals, and 54.80% of children could at least name one way to protect themselves when facing sexual abuse. In the dimension of gender equality, 33.62% and 28.53%of children had gender stereotypes in toy selection and career choice, 66.38% of children thought that boys are as smart as girls. In the dimension of pregnancy and birth，78.53% of children knew where babies come from and 26.27% of children think parenthood doesn t directly lead to happiness. Sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of children had statistically significant difference in different grades（P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#Children already have good understanding about pregnancy, childbirth and prevention of sexual abuse. In the future, sexuality education in school and family need to promote physical cognition and gender equality education.