Uncovering the Voices of API Women on Sex Selection, Gender Preference & Self-Esteem
1. Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
UNCOVERING THE VOICES OF
API WOMEN ON SEX
SELECTION, GENDER
PREFERENCE & SELF-ESTEEM
Voice & Visibility: API Women’s Health Summit
May 18, 2011
Irvine, California
Sunday, May 15, 2011
2. Presenters
Jedrek Chua
University of California, Irvine
Public Health Policy & Urban Studies
Christine Lee
University of California, Irvine
Biological Sciences & Anthropology
Allison Nguyen
University of California, Irvine
Public Health Policy & Business Economics
Denise Tran
University of California, Irvine
Public Health Sciences
Sunday, May 15, 2011
3. CYWC QUANTITATIVE
STUDY FINDINGS
Methods & Demographics
Sex Selection
Sunday, May 15, 2011
5. Methods
Online survey conducted through SurveyMonkey
Random sampling of 5000 full-time undergraduate females, 18-25 years of
age
Final sample size: N=1100
Questions included topics on:
Demographics Contraceptive choice
Association with Religion Views on abortion
Sex Education Sex selection
Sexual history Reproductive Technology
Sunday, May 15, 2011
6. Demographic African American
Characteristics of our Latina/Chicana
Sample Population 2%
14%
API 50% White
22%
20%
15%
13%
10%
Multi-Racial
5%
0%
Chinese Vietnamese Filipina Korean South Asian
Sunday, May 15, 2011
7. Religious Affiliation of UC Irvine
Campus
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Catholicism Christianity Buddhism Islam Hinduism Judaism Other
Sunday, May 15, 2011
12. Boys & Girls are Valued Equally
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Agree* Neutral Disagree*
Agree*: Strongly Agree & Agree
Disagree*: Strongly Disagree & Disagree
Sunday, May 15, 2011
13. Who are more valued?
60% 60%
45% 45%
30% 30%
15% 24% 15%
9%
0% 0%
Disagree* Neutral Agree* Disagree* Neutral Agree*
Boys more valued Girls more valued
than Girls than Boys
Agree*: Strongly Agree & Agree
Disagree*: Strongly Disagree & Disagree
Sunday, May 15, 2011
14. “All things considered, I believe that I,
as a woman, have as much opportunity as a man”
100%
75%
50%
25%
0%
Disagree* Neutral Agree*
Agree*: Strongly Agree & Agree
Disagree*: Strongly Disagree & Disagree
Sunday, May 15, 2011
15. Sex Choice of First-Born Child
40%
30%
20%
31%
10%
14%
0%
Boy Girl Do Not Not Sure No Children
Care Planned
Sunday, May 15, 2011
16. Sex Choice if Only Child
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Boy Girl Do Not Care Not Sure
Sunday, May 15, 2011
18. “Do you know people in your family or communities
who have used some sort of technology,
including abortion, to have a child of a specific sex?”
80%
60%
40%
20%
7%
0%
Yes No Not Sure
Sunday, May 15, 2011
22. Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program (UROP)
How Sex Selection & Gender Preference Affects Asian
American Women’s Self-Esteem & Self-Perception
Allison Nguyen
Christine Lee
Jedrek Chua
Denise Tran
Sunday, May 15, 2011
23. Hypothesis
We propose that sex selection and
gender preference has an adverse impact
on the self-esteem and self-perception
of Asian American women.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
24. Qualitative Methods
2 Focus Group Discussions [N=19]
Female Group [N=12]
Male Group [N=7]
Focus Group Included:
Pre-focus group questionnaire
Warm-up questions
Focus group discussion questions
Reflection
unintended consequence :)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
25. Focus Group Discussion Questions
How Sex Selection & Gender Preference Affects Self-Esteem
How Sex Selection & Gender Preference Affects Self-Perception
How Self-Esteem Affects
Educational Opportunities
& Career Paths
Attitudes on Gender Roles
and Familial Responsibilities
Sunday, May 15, 2011
26. Data Analysis
Transcribed both sets of focus group audio recordings
Generated transcripts totaling about 50 pages
Coded and created themes
Tabulated pre-focus group questionnaires
Discussed & interpreted emerging themes
Sunday, May 15, 2011
27. Findings
Attitudes on gender roles and
How self-esteem affects
familial responsibilities
educational opportunities &
career paths
♂ Privileged in job-related
opportunities compared to
♀ Desire to be male for greater
women
freedom
♀ Get married, have families
♀ Need for push from parents
♂ Men to protect women
♀ Need for jobs with financial
security
♀ Family life given priority
♂ Jobs first, families later
♀ Gender-based chores
Sunday, May 15, 2011
28. Findings
Familial Responsibilities
Expectations placed on older child
Educational Expectations
Emphasis placed on younger child
Sunday, May 15, 2011
29. Conclusion
Parental Encouragement & Guidance
Careers with Financial Stability
Familial Responsibilities vs. Educational
Achievement
Sunday, May 15, 2011
30. Conclusion
Limitations
Ethnic Composition of Focus Groups
Follow-Up Questions
Generation Gap and Acculturation
Retherford and Roy (2003)
Having open and honest discussion
Recruitment
Asian Characteristics
Sunday, May 15, 2011
32. Mock Focus Group
1. What were some cultural expectations in
your family?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
33. Mock Focus Group
2. Did you ever feel any pressure from your
parents to choose a specific major?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
34. Mock Focus Group
3. Have you ever felt your gender dictated your
choice of major?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
35. Mock Focus Group
4. How do your familial responsibilities differ
from that of your sibling(s)?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
36. Mock Focus Group
5. Are girls and boys VALUED equally within
your family?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
37. Mock Focus Group
6. Do you think you would have more
opportunities if you were of the opposite
gender?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
38. Mock Focus Group
7. If given a choice, would you like your first
born child to be:
A boy
A girl
Do not care
Not sure
I am not planning to have children
Sunday, May 15, 2011
39. Mock Focus Group
8. If, for whatever reason, you could not have
more than one child, what sex would you wish
for your only child to be?
A boy
A girl
Do not care
Not sure
Sunday, May 15, 2011