Diverging Age–Period–Cohort Patterns in Attitudes toward Non-Marital Sexual Behaviors in China

• In Event: Sociology of Sex and Gender Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 18. Religion and Social Change

Abstract

Public attitudes toward non-marital sexual behavior provide a window into broader transformations in family norms and moral boundaries. In contemporary China, tolerance toward some forms of sexual expression appears to be expanding, yet acceptance remains uneven across behaviors and social groups. This study examines how attitudes toward premarital sex, extramarital sex, and same-sex relations have evolved from 2010 to 2021. Using nationally representative data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) and applying a Hierarchical Age–Period–Cohort (HAPC) model, we disentangle age, period, and cohort effects. Results reveal differentiated trajectories across behaviors. Period effects indicate rising tolerance toward premarital sex and same-sex relations but declining acceptance of extramarital sex. Acceptance decreases with age for all three behaviors, though the age effect is weaker for extramarital sex. Cohort patterns show that Cultural Revolution cohorts express the lowest tolerance, while post-reform cohorts exhibit the highest acceptance of premarital and extramarital sex, followed by a post-2000 conservative turn. In contrast, acceptance of same-sex relations continues to rise among younger cohorts without a clear reversal. Gendered cohort analyses further indicate that fluctuations in premarital and extramarital attitudes are primarily driven by men, whereas the continued rise in acceptance of same-sex relations among younger cohorts is largely led by women. Together, these findings suggest that sexual attitudes in China follow distinct and uneven trajectories, reflecting both liberalization and renewed moral conservatism in contemporary family norms.

Authors

• Feng Wei, Johns Hopkins University

• Yan Jin