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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Dr. Rommel "Mely" Jacinto D. Silverio, Demographic Research and Development Foundation, Inc., Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 186 Antonio Luna Street, Barangay Marilag, Project 4, Quezon City, 1109, Philippines, (632) 4212734, mely62@yahoo.com
Despite strong social stigma in a predominantly Catholic country like the Philippines, a sizeable sexual minority group exists among the Filipino youth. In particular, among 10,879 youth respondents aged 15 to 24 in the second nationwide “Young Adolescent Fertility Survey” conducted in 1994 by the University of the Philippines, about 7% of these young adults indicated bisexuality and slightly over 10% professed homosexuality. As Philippine society tends to traditionally censure sociological studies of human sexuality as taboo, much remains largely unknown about the social lifestyle of bisexual and homosexual Filipino youth, even much less about their sexual and non-sexual risk behaviors that impinge adversely upon health. In this light, this paper aims to identify some influential socioeconomic and demographic factors affecting the incidence of such sexual and non-sexual risk behaviors as premarital sexual activity, smoking, drug and alcohol use, and prostitution among these two sexual minority groups. The ultimate objective of the study focuses on establishing more responsive program approaches that will effectively address the unique conditions and needs of bisexual and homosexual Filipino youth, particularly with respect to these contemporary health issues.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Gay, Bisexual
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.