VANCOUVER -- Language barriers may be putting the sexual health of some new Canadian teens at risk, says a new study that suggests sex education must be tailored to the needs of immigrant adolescents.
The study by the University of British Columbia School of Nursing involved 4,500 East Asian students in Grades 7 to 12.
It said the vast majority of the students were not sexually active because of cultural reasons but of the 12 per cent who were having sex, one in four used alcohol or drugs before a relationship while nearly half of girls did not use a condom.
Researcher Yuko Homma said about half the study group of Chinese, Korean and Japanese adolescents were new to Canada and spoke a language other than English at home.
She said the teens' parents likely would not have any formal sexual health education themselves because some cultures shy away from such topics.
"Many of them may feel uncomfortable talking about sex with their children so I think it would be great to have sexual health education and resources for both teens and their families," Homma said.
She said the teens may be missing key information in sexual health classes because of language barriers and youth clinics or community programs may need to fill in the gap to prevent high-risk sexual behaviour.
Homma said community programs for both teens and parents, in their own language, need to address the issue because immigrant adolescents tend to be more sexually active in Canada as they adapt to western norms.
"We know these are a growing number of minority groups particularly in British Columbia and also in Canada and maybe their health would impact general Canadian health."
The study, which was published recently in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, included data from a 2008 survey conducted in schools through the McCreary Centre Society in collaboration with the B.C. government and the public health system.
It did not include adolescents in English as a second language programs or those who don't attend public schools.
