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Available via license: CC BY-NC 3.0
Content may be subject to copyright.
INTRODUCTION
Circumcision is one of the earliest surgical procedures that
have been performed for approximately four thousand years.
Circumcision has been performed in about 15-20% of the
entire male population in the worlds for religious, cultural,
and medical reasons (1-3). Circumcision is mainly performed
for religious fulfillments, largely among Islamic and Jewish
communities (1, 2). America is the only country where routine
infant circumcision is widely practiced without any signifi-
cant religious reason (2, 3). Korea also probably has the high-
est circumcision rate among those not Moslem or Jewish.
Several studies have been attempted to assess the value of
circumcision in terms of doctors’views. However, there are
only few studies on the circumcision in terms of parents’views.
In Korea, so far, there is only one available data on the circum-
cision of children aged 10-13 yr (4).
We studied to evaluate the concerns on the circumcision in
parents of elementary school boys in Busan for the purpose of
getting basic data to give the public the correct information
on their decision.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A randomly selected cross-sectional study was performed in
each elementary school from 16 urban wards in Busan, Korea,
from January to March 2000. Of the 10,861 invited eligible
parents of elementary school boys aged 7-12 yr, 4,225 parents
aged 25-57 yr (mean 38.7 yr) participated in this survey. Self-
administered questionnaires were distributed to parents thro-
ugh the homeroom teacher at each school. We divided partici-
pants into two groups; group I (parents who agree to circum-
cision) and group II (parents who disagree to circumcision).
The questionnaires consisted of five pages. The first page
included a brief explanation of the intention of this survey. The
remaining pages included items about the reason for or against
circumcision, optimal time of circumcision, medical knowl-
edge on the circumcision, neonatal circumcision, selection of
doctors, and demographic characteristics of the group. Infor-
mation on demographic characteristics was obtained and cat-
egorized by age, sex, socioeconomic status (income and edu-
cation), religion, occupation, circumcision status of fathers and
medical or paramedical relations. In the assessment of medical
knowledge of parents on the circumcision, parents were asked
to answer simply‘yes’or‘no’.
The statistical analysis was done with chi-square test or Mc-
Nemar test. The level of significance was p<0.05.
RESULTS
Of the 10,861 invited eligible parents, the questionnaires
were collected from 4,225 parents (response rate, 38.9%), 2,022
Sang D. Lee, Eun Park, Byeng M. Choe
*
Department of Urology and the Department of
Preventive Medicine*, College of Medicine, Busan
National University, Busan, Korea
Address for correspondence
Sang Don Lee, M.D.
Department of Urology, College of Medicine,
Busan National University, 1-10 Ami-dong,
Seo-gu, Busan 602-739, Korea
Tel : +82-51-240-7348, Fax : +82-51-255-7133
E-mail : LSD@hyowon.pusan.ac.kr
73
J Korean Med Sci 2003; 18: 73-9
ISSN 1011-8934
Copyright
�
The Korean Academy
of Medical Sciences
Parental Concerns on the Circumcision for Elementary School Boys
: A Questionnaire Study
To evaluate the parental concerns for elementary school boys (7-12 yr) on the cir-
cumcision, a randomly selected cross-sectional survey was performed in each ele-
mentary school from 16 urban wards in Busan. We asked 10,861 parents to answer
the questionnaires on the circumcision such as the benefits and fallbacks of circum-
cision, proper time and knowledge of the surgery, and neonatal circumcison. The
overall response rate to the questionnaire was 38.9%. The overall circumcision rate
of elementary school boys was 43.2%, which increased from 18.7% at 7 yr old to
64.8% at 12 yr old. The significant reason for and against circumcison was‘hygiene
benefits (88.1%)’and ‘unreliable medical benefits (38.5%)’, respectively. 74.9% of
parents thought that elementary school age is the optimal time of circumcision. Only
11.2% of boys were circumcised during neonatal period. The main reason for par-
ents to oppose neonatal circumcision was‘their babies feel pain (35.8%)’. About
50% of parents thought that circumcision will prevent medical diseases. Besides the
medical basis, the circumcision is emerging as a kind of social custom in Busan. For
parents making the decisions on the circumcision of their boys, physician or health
care providers should provide helpful and honest facts about circumcision.
Key Words : Circumcision; Child; Parents; Attitude
Received : 10 June 2002
Accepted : 12 November 2002
74
S.D. Lee, E. Park, B.M. Choe
fathers (47.9%) and 2,203 mothers (52.1%).
Parental characteristics
The group of parents who agree to circumcision (group I)
and disagree to circumcision (group II) were closely matched.
There was no significant difference between the two groups
regarding age, education, occupation, income, religion, and rel-
ative who is related with medicine or paramedicine. How-
ever, the circumcision status of fathers was exceptional factor
(Table 1).
Circumcision rate according to age
We assessed the circumcision rate according to age of cir-
cumcised 1,827 boys from the parents group. The overall cir-
cumcision rate among elementary school aged boys was 43.2%
(1,827/4,225 boys). The circumcision rate increased signifi-
cantly with age from 18.7% among 7 yr old to 64.8% among
12 yr old (p=0.001) (Fig. 1).
Parental viewpoints on the circumcision
Most of the parents (96.8%) have considered the circumci-
sion on their sons. 91.7% of parents also thought that their
sons should be circumcised. Among them (91.7%), 82.8%
had at least one reason to support their decisions on circum-
cision. They were asked whether their sons should be circum-
cised or not be circumcised and the results are summarized in
Table 2. Among reasons for which parents agree to the decision
on circumcision, social reason was less prominent. For parents
who agree to circumcision, the most frequent response was the
concern about medical issues; hygiene benefits accounted for
88.1% (Table 2). On the other hand, for parents who chose
‘not to have their sons circumcised’, the most frequent reasons
were‘unreliable medical rationality’and‘foreskin may spon-
taneously retract with age’accounted for 38.5% and 23.7%
of respondents, respectively (Table 2). Religion was given as
one of the reasons for the decision on circumcision from only
14 respondents (0.3%).
Of the fathers (69.4%) who were circumcised, 50.9% of
their sons were circumcised. On the other hand, of the uncir-
cumcised fathers (30.6%), 55.6% of their sons were uncircum-
cised. Son’s circumcision rate was significantly related with the
circumcision state of fathers (p=0.001) (Table 3).
In a question on the appropriate time of circumcision and
the most suitable doctor to perfom the procedure, most of the
parents (74.9%) thought that elementary school age is the opti-
mal time for circumcision. The response on the neonatal cir-
*; p<0.05.
Demographic characteristics
Group
I (%)
Group
II (%)
Educational level Above college 96.6 3.4
Below college 99.0 1.0
Occupation White collar 97.7 2.3
Blue collar 98.6 1.4
Income ≥U$20,000 equivalent 96.9 3.1
< U$20,000 equivalent 98.5 1.5
Religion Buddihism 99.1 0.9
Christianty 95.5 4.5
Relative related with Have 97.0 3.0
medicine or paramedicine Don’t have 98.9 1.1
Father’s circumcision Circumcised 99.2 0.8
status Uncircumcised 95.6* 4.4*
Table 1. Comparison between the groups of parents who agree
to the circumcision (group I) or disagree to the circumcision (gr-
oup II) regarding parental characteristics
Reasons No. respondents (%)
Deciding for circumcision (n=3,453)
Hygiene benefits (easier to keep clean) 3,042 (88.1)
Enhanced sexuality or larger penis 294 (8.5)
Peer pressure (I don’t want him to look different) 45 (1.3)
Good cosmetic (looks better) 17 (0.5)
Religion 14 (0.4)
Others 41 (1.2)
Deciding against circumcision (n=772)
Unreliable medical rationality 297 (38.5)
Foreskin spontaneously retracts with age 183 (23.7)
Fear of circumcision complications 168 (21.7)
Ridicule from peer (appearance) 54 (7.0)
Others 70 (9.1)
Table 2. Reasons deciding for or against circumcision
Father
Son (%)
Total (%)
Circumcised Uncircumcised
Circumcised 1,384 (35.3) 1,336 (34.1) 2,720 (69.4)
Uncircumcised 534 (13.6) 668 (17.0) 1,202 (30.6)
Total 1,918 (48.9) 2,004 (51.1) 3,922 (100.0)
Table 3. Relationship between the status of father’s circumci-
sion and their sons
McNemar test: p=0.001, =0.054.
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
789101112
Age (yr)
18.7
23.4
32.7
41.9
49.9
64.8
Fig. 1. Circumcision rate according to age (n=4,225).
(
2
test for trend p=0.001).
Circumcised boys (%)
Parental Concerns on Circumcision
75
cumcision was only 14.9% in this question. Among respon-
dents, 85.8% thought that urologists were the most suitable
surgeons to perform the procedure. 5.6% of respondents chose
‘obstetrics-gynecologist’,‘pediatrician’, and‘do not matter’
(Table 4).
In the assessment of the medical knowledge or misunderstan-
ding of parents on the circumcision, about 50% of parents took
account of medical advantages on the circumcision (Table 5).
Parental viewpoints on the neonatal circumcision
Most of Korean males were circumcised after the neonatal
period; only 11.2% were circumcised during the neonatal peri-
od in this survey. 72.3% of parents were not recommended
the neonatal circumcision on their sons from hospitals during
the neonatal period. We asked the reasons to 1,400 parents
who were against the neonatal circumcision; the results were
summarized in Table 6. Among all reasons against the neona-
tal circumcision, the most frequent responses were‘babies feel
pain’, and‘earlier circumcised, more unshaped’, accounted for
35.8%, and 25.3%, respectively.
In the assessment on the neonatal circumcision, more than
50% of parents were interested in son’s sexuality and penile
size as grown-ups, rather than concerns by the medical basis
(Table 7).
DISCUSSION
The origin of circumcision is shrouded in antiquity; mum-
mies from 6,000 yr ago have been reported to show evidences
of circumcision. The origin of the practice of circumcision is in
both cultural and religious traditions. Circumcision has become
an essential component in many religions, most notably in
Judaism and Islam. Circumcision has been a part of Judaism
Questions No. respondents (yes) (%)
Questions on the circumcision
Smegma is a infected unsanitary material 3,688/4,077 (90.5)
in the uncircumcised children
Circumcision prevents a penile cancer 1,625/3,762 (43.2)
Circumcision prevents a cervical cancer 2,487/3,900 (64.7)
Circumcision prevents a infection such as 1,822/3,735 (48.8)
cystitis, pyelonephritis
Circumcison prevents a genital 3,108/3,900 (79.7)
infection of spouse
Circumcision prevents a premature 1,501/2,662 (56.4)
ejaculation
Circumcision prevents a balanitis or 1,576/3,819 (41.3)
balanoposthitis
Circumcision should be performed in winter 3,433/4,026 (85.3)
to lessen an inflammation
Questions on the neonatal circumcision
Son will be teased from peers because of 896/2,786 (32.3)
circumcised penis at earier age
Anesthesia doesn’t need in neonate 1,092/2,687 (40.6)
because of no feeling of pain
Neonatal circumcision enhances sexuality 1,610/2,685 (60.0)
Neonatal circumcison enhances penile growth 1,427/2,696 (52.9)
Neonatal circumcision prevents 1,501/2,662 (56.4)
a premature ejaculation
Neonatal circumcision enhances 960/3,032 (31.7)
a strong urinary stream
Table 5. Medical knowledgement of parents on the circumci-
sion
No. respondents (%)
Time of circumcision (n=4,104)
Neonatal 612 (14.9)
Preschool (kindergarten) 161 (3.9)
Elementary school 3,075 (74.9)
Middle school 154 (3.8)
High school 27 (0.7)
Before enrollment 25 (0.6)
Military service period 29 (0.7)
Before marriage 3 (0.1)
Manhood 0 (0)
No consideration 18 (0.4)
Specialist (n=4,225)
Urologist 3,623 (85.8)
General surgeon 364 (8.6)
Obstetric-gynecologist 57 (1.3)
Pediatrician 47 (1.1)
Do not matter 134 (3.2)
Table 4. Optimal time and most suitable doctor for circumci-
sion
Reasons No. respondents (%)
Babies feel pain 501 (35.8)
Earlier circumcised, more unshaped 354 (25.4)
It is a easier teasing from peer 170 (12.1)
It is dangerous to circumcise a small size of penis 141 (10.1)
Fear of circumcision complications 57 (4.1)
Others 177 (12.6)
Total 1,400 (100)
Table 6. Reasons deciding against neonatal circumcision
Questions No. respondents (yes) (%)
Son will be teased from peers because of 896/2,786 (32.3)
circumcised penis at earier age
Anesthesia doesn’t need in neonate 1,092/2,687 (40.6)
because of no feeling of pain
Neonatal circumcision enhances sexuality 1,610/2,685 (60.0)
Neonatal circumcison enhances 1,427/2,696 (52.9)
penile growth
Neonatal circumcision prevents 1,501/2,662 (56.4)
a premature ejaculation
Neonatal circumcision enhances 960/3,032 (31.7)
a strong urinary stream
Table 7. Medical knowledgement of parents on the neonatal
circumcision
76
S.D. Lee, E. Park, B.M. Choe
from the very earliest days of the religion, since it was first
performed by the patriarch Abraham (5). The tradition also
was prevalent among the Egyptians, Kalahari bushmen, Aus-
taralian aborigines, and among other African communities (1).
It has only become fashionable, since the rise of modern surgery
in the 19th century (1).
In the United States, the origin of circumcision can be traced
to religious beliefs, as well as to health beliefs that circumcised
penis leads to a lower rate of cancer, infection, and phimosis,
and better hygiene. Recently, however, medical researches on
the topic have generated an ambiguous set of results regarding
the impact of circumcision status on the lives of men. As a
result, rhetoric has reached a fever pitch, as each side of the
debate appeals to divergent criteria to make its case. Recog-
nizing the merit of each position, the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) has counseled that parents must be fully
informative of the risks and benefits of the procedure before
deciding to have their sons circumcised (6, 7).
Circumcision is performed in most male, in spite of its vague
medical indications in Korea, and despite policy statements
of more than 20 yr ago against routine circumcision of new-
borns by the AAP and the American College of Obstetrics and
Gynecology. Korea also stands apart from the rest of Asia with
the highest rate of circumcision. Furthermore, Korea proba-
bly records with the highest number of the boys circumcised
in elementary school age or teenage anywhere in the world.
Unfortunately, Korean physicians and surgeons do not know
exactly why Korea has the highest circumcision rate in these
age group in the world, and there is also a little available data
to survey the trend, especially among children (2, 4). We stud-
ied the prevalence of circumcision among elementary school
boys in Busan, as well as the factors of influence on the deci-
sions of the parents on circumcision. We also studied the rea-
sons for or against circumcision, proper time of circumcision,
medical knowledge of the parents on the circumcision, etc.
The role of physicians can be influential in the circumcision
decision (8, 9). It is reported that the circumcison was per-
formed in 20% of cases when physicians opposed it and in
100% of cases when the physician favored it (9). In our survey,
the questionnaires were distributed through school teachers
in order to avoid any influence and effect of physicians on the
decision. And in our desire for objectivity, we also have not
given sufficient emphasis to the view that circumcision was
a procedure that is medically necessary.
With respect to prevalence, several investigators have report-
ed that demographic characteristics, such as educational level,
occupation, income, religion, etc have acted as parts of influ-
encing factor of circumcision (4, 7, 10, 11). Laumann et al.
demonstrated that circumcision rates are the greatest among
better-educated responde
nt
s (11). Better-educated parents, who
are more likely to be exposed to the prevailing scientific wis-
dom favoring circumcision and to be exposed to significant
social pressure to conform to this wisdom, circumcised their
sons at greater levels than less educated parents. Socioeconom-
ic differences between parents may reflect the greater tenden-
cy for mid-class parents to desire circumcision for their sons
(4, 7). In other report (11), the estimated percentages of youths
circumcised highly correlated with family income and edu-
cation of head of household. However, in our study, different
from previous reports (4, 7, 10, 11), there was no significant
relationship concerning demographic characteristics, such as
education level, occupation, income, and prescence of relatives
whose works are related with medicine/paramedicine. Father’s
circumcision status was an exceptional factor. While the cir-
cumcision has been employed as religious marker in other we-
stern societies, such religious purpose did not serve in Busan
like the report of Oh et al. (4). Reasons for the difference be-
tween this survey and other reports are not entirely clear. Pos-
sible explanation could include regional and cultural differ-
ences, varying participation rates, methods of survey (phone,
interview, mailed), formats of survey (open choices presented),
and the length of time since the circumcision.
Previous reports (8, 10) on the reasons for circumcision deci-
sion have revealed parents concern for medical issues, although
the importance of these issues has been difficult to estimate.
Subsequent reports have supported the concern for cleanliness
and prevention of infection or cancer as reasons for circumci-
sion (2, 4, 6, 12-14). We could also find the same results in
our survey. However, interestingly, reasons such as‘circum-
cision enhances sexuality or penile growth’,‘peer pressure’or
‘good cosmetic’, that are not from the basis of medical knowl-
edge, were covered as reasons of circumcision different from
other surveys. In our study, just as in other surveys (10), father’s
circumcision status singnificantly influenced the circumcision
decision of their sons. Even though most of parents concerned
about medical issues, the concern that son’s penis looks like
his fathers’or brothers’or friends’seemed to be important.
Social reasons for the circumcision decision also were the con-
cerns among the parents, even though it categorized by the
low percentage in our survey.
In the assessment of medical knowlege on the circumcision,
more than fifty percent of parents had incorrect medical knowl-
edge of circumcision, such as‘the surgery enhances sexuality,
and penile growth’,‘it prevents a premature ejaculation’or
‘it should be performed in winter to lessen an infection’. This
data is important in providing proper education for parents to
make the right decision on circumcision. It seems to us that
if proper medical information is going to make a difference in
the incidence of circumcision, the group with this difference
would be highly motivated with higher education.
There are a little survey on the time of circumcision. There
are merits and fallbacks in the neonatal operation. Factors such
as the degrees of feeling pain, anesthesia, ligature, complica-
tion, and cost were considered. Wiswell (13) strongly advo-
cates the neonatal period as being the best time to perform
circumcision, pointing out that the child will not need ligatures
or general anaesthesia, nor additional hospitalization. Com-
plication rate is also very low (0.2%) as well as the cost. Older
children aged 4 months to 15 yr usually have general anaes-
thesia and require ligatures. The child is often hospitalized
overnight. There may be substantial complication although
their occurrence is infrequent (1.7%). The postoperative pain
lasts for days. It is more expensive to circumcise an older child
(13). In adults, it can be performed on an outpatient basis with
local anaesthetic, and ligatures are used. The pain generally
last for 1-2 week, and the procedure is more expensive for adults
(13). As seen in this survey, circumcision, different from other
country’s report, is mainly done during elementary school age,
and the rate of circumcision increased according to age, even
among the ranges of elementary school age. It may be influ-
enced by parents’thoughts of increasing tolerability to pain
during operation time and postoperative period, and being
performed on the outpatient basis with local anesthesia.
Most of babies have taken circumcision during the neonatal
period in the United States. However, in this survey, only
11.2% were circumcised during neonatal period, and the major
cause avoiding neonatal circumcision by parents was that they
thought‘baby feels pain’(35.8%) and‘earlier circumcised,
more unshapely’(25.3%). We also learned that many parents
had been misguided to the idea about neonatal circumcision,
such as‘neonatal circumcision enhances sexuality’,‘neonatal
circumcision enhances penile growth’, or‘neonatal circumci-
sion makes a strong urinary stream’. To make correct decisions
on their son’s circumcision, it will be very important to give
parents with accurate medical acknowledge about the bene-
fits of circumcision.
Several studies have attempted to assess the value of circum-
cision in terms of doctors’views (6, 7, 13, 15). We thought
that there might be different opinions between physicians and
parents. One of them was‘who is the most suitable doctor to
circumcise?’. Among respondents, 85.6% thought that urol-
ogists were the most suitable to perform the surgery. Unex-
pectedly, some respondents (5.7%) chose‘obstetrics-gynecolo-
gists’,‘pediatricians’or ‘do not matter’.
Recent investigators have argued that an educational pro-
gram about the lack of medical indication for the circumci-
sion decision would lead parents to choose against circumci-
sion on their sons. The medical aspects of circumcision have
been written in the literatures and remain confused. It seems
clear that it is still in need of modest hygienic care, and has
been recently associated with its own infectious problems. This
position was supported by this surveys showing a high pro-
portion of concerns for medical issues among parents making
the circumcision decision. However, in this study, besides the
medical issues, there also were social concerns such as‘circum-
cision enhances sexuality or penile growth’or‘peer pressure’.
The role of physicians or health care providers should be to
knowledgeably and honestly discuss not only the medical as-
pects of circumcision, but also the impact of social concerns.
Because of the strong base of the circumcision decision in social
issues and cultural traditions, it may be more of an emotional
than a rational decision.
In conclusion, the circumcision has been done as a kind of
custom or cultural conformity in Busan society; to change the
parental attitudes toward their son’s circumcision, it is not an
easy task. Decisions on circumcision in Busan are based on the
parents’perceptions of hygiene, their lack of understanding
of the medical knowledge, or their desire to conform to the
pattern established by the parents and their own societal struc-
ture. We believe that in counseling parents making the cir-
cumcision decision, physicians or health care providers should
provide a knowledgeable and honest discussion of the medi-
cal and social aspects on circumcision.
REFERENCES
1. Dunsmuir WD, Gordon EM. The history of circumcision. BJU int 1999;
83(Suppl 1): 1-12.
2. Kim DS, Lee JY, Pang MG. Male circumcision: a South Korean per-
spective. BJU int 1999; 83(Suppl 1): 28-33.
3. Wallerstein E. Circumcision: the uniquely American medical enigma.
Urol Clin North Am 1985; 12: 123-32.
4. Oh SJ, Kim KD, Kim KM, Kim KS, Kim KK, Kim JS, Kim HG, Woo
YN, Yoon YL, Lee SD, Han SW, Lee SI, Choi H. Knowledge and
attitudes of Koreans towards their son
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s circumcision: a nationwide
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5. Glass JM. Religious circumcision: a Jewish view. BJU int 1999; 83:
17-21.
6. American Academy of Pediatrics. Report of the task force on circum-
cision. Pediatrics 1989; 84: 388-91.
7. Laumann EO, Masi CM, Zuckerman EW. Circumcision in the Unit-
ed States. Prevalence, prophyactic effects, and sexual practice. JAMA
1997; 277: 1052-7.
8. Rand CS, Emmons CA, Johnson JW. The effect of an educational
intervention on the rate of neonatal circumcision. Obstet Gynecol
1983; 62: 64-8.
9. Patel H. The problem of routine circumcision. Can Med Assoc J 1966;
95: 576-81.
10. Brown MS, Brown CA. Circumcision decision: prominence of social
concerns. Pediatrics 1987; 80: 215-9.
11. Slaby AR, Drizd T. Circumcision in the United States. Am J Public
Health 1985; 75; 878-80.
12. Herzog L. Urianry tract infections and circumcision: a case control
study. Am J Dis Child 1989; 143: 348-50.
13. Wiswell TE. Neonatal circumcision: a current appraisal. 1997; http:
//www.geocities.com/HotSprings/2754/
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Parental Concerns on Circumcision
77
APPENDIX I
Gender of the responder: (male, female) Age: ( ) years old
Number of children you have: male ( ), female ( )
The age at which your son underwent circumcision: ( )
years old
Q1] Have you ever thought of the circumcision of your
son(s) ?
1) Yes 2) No
Q2] Do you think circumcision is necessary for your
son (s)? (Choose one of the followings)
1) Absolutely necessary -> Go to the Q3-1
2) May be necessary -> Go to the Q3-1
3) I do not know -> Go to the Q3-1
4) May not be necessary -> Go to the Q4
5) Absolutely unnecessary -> Go to the Q4
Q3-1] Do you have any particular reason for viewing cir-
cumcision to be necessary?
1) Yes 2) No
Q3-2] Then, what is the main reason for circumcision?
(Choose one of the followings)
1) Better penile hygiene
2) To help improve sexual function as an adult
3) Good appearance (cosmetic reason)
4) Look like his peers (peer pressure)
5) Religious reasons
6) Others (Briefly state why): ( )
Q3-3] When do you think it is the most optimal time to
have your son circumcised? (Choose one of the fol-
lowings)
1) Immediately after birth
2) Preschool period
3) Early elementary school period
4) Late elementary school period
5) Middle school period
6) High school period
7) Just before military recruitment
8) During military service
9) Just before marriage
10) Middle age
11) Old age
12) I have never given a thought
Go to the Q5]
Q4] If you think circumcision is unnecessary, what is
the main reason? (Choose one of the followings)
1) Because I do not know the exact medical bene-
fits.
2) Because I am anxious about postoperative com-
plications.
3) Because the peers may ridicule the appearance of
circumcised phallus.
4) Because it may spontaneously be retracted with
time.
5) Others: (Briefly state why) ( )
Q5] Please mark O if you agree, mark X if you do not
agree.
A) The white material under uncircumcised preputial
skin is an unhealthy material infected by microor-
ganisms. ( )
B) Circumcision may help prevent penile cancer. ( )
C) Circumcision may help prevent bladder or kid-
ney infection. ( )
D) Circumcision may help prevent cervix cancer of
the sexual partner. ( )
E) Circumcision may help prevent genital tract infec-
tion of the sexual partner. ( )
F) My son has experienced inflammation, redness
together with pain, of the penile prepuce when
remained uncircumcised. ( )
Q6] Have you ever had your newborn son circumcised
within the first month?
1) Yes. I have 2) No. I have not
Q7] What was your main reason for disagreement of
neonatal circumcision? (Choose one of the follow-
ings)
1) My son may be ridiculed by the appearance of
circumcised phallus.
2) It may be risky because the penile size of new-
born is too small to circumcise.
3) It looks bad when done too early.
4) Even a newborn may feel the pain from circum-
cision.
5) I have heard from others that there are a lot of
complications.
6) Others: (Please specify) ( )
Q8] Please mark O if you agree, mark X if you do not
agree.
A) My son may be ridiculed by peers with the appear-
ance of circumcised phallus if uncircumcised. ( )
B) My son may be ridiculed by peers if remained
uncircumcised. ( )
C) Anesthesia is unnecessary in neonatal circumci-
sion because neonates do not feel pain. ( )
D) Circumcision will improves male sexual poten-
cy in adulthood. ( )
E) Circumcision will be effectively prevents prema-
ture ejaculation by decreasing penile sensitivity.
( )
F) Circumcision facilitates penile growth. ( )
G) Circumcision strengthens the urinary stream. ( )
Q9] What is the your level of education you had?
1) No education
2) Elementary school
3) Middle school
4) High school
5) College or University
Q10] How much is overall monthly income of your fam-
ily?
78
S.D. Lee, E. Park, B.M. Choe
1) Under 500,000Won
2) 510,000-1,000,000Won
3) 1,000,001-1,500,000Won
4) 1,500,000-2,000,000Won
5) 2,000,001-2,500,000Won
6) 2,500,001-3,000,000Won
7) Over 3,000,001Won
Q11] What is your religion?
1) Buddhism
2) Protestant
3) Catholic
4) Others
5) I have no religion
Parental Concerns on Circumcision
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