Assessing parental marital quality and divorce related to youth sexual experiences and adverse reproductive health outcomes among 50,000 Chinese college students

Marital relationships in China have undergone significant transformations with the rapid industrialization and modernization of the society. The prevalence of divorce in China and worldwide has shown an upward trend in recent years. Divorce and parental marital quality often affect youth health, but its association with youth sexual and reproductive health requires more discussion. This study aimed to investigate the associations between parental marital quality and parental divorce status (marriage or divorce) and a range of youth sexual and reproductive health indicators. Participants included 51,124 students from universities or vocational colleges across all 31 provinces in mainland China. A total of 10.72% of the surveyed students’ parents had divorced. Participants from divorced family rated perceived parental marital quality less than half of the ratings on a 10-point scale of those from intact family (3.22 vs. 7.44). Divorce and lower parental marital quality were separately associated with a higher likelihood of experiencing sexual abuse, high-risk sexual behaviors, and unintended health outcomes among youth. These findings highlight the importance of implementing specific intervention programs to protect children from unharmonious families or divorced families.