Estudio sobre conocimientos y actitudes sexuales en adolescentes y jóvenes

Sexual knowledge and attitudes in adolescents and young adults Objectives: To explore the concerns, knowledge and attitudes of adolescents in order to advise and support these young people at a difficult stage of their lives. Material and methods: An anonymous survey was carried out in 300 adolescents and young adults aged between 13 and 21 in 2008. The statistical analysis used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests. Results: Boys obtained information on sexuality from the Internet (30.8%), while women gained information from their families (57.6%). Boys attached much greater importance to sexuality. The first non-coital sexual experience occurred at age 13. The first sexual intercourse was at age 15 for boys and 16 for girls. The first sexual intercourse was motivated by love in girls (40.6%) and by desire in boys (24.1%). Girls were more aware of the risk of pregnancy (82.7%). As for false myths, boys believed that a large penis or breasts led to greater satisfaction. Parents differed in their acceptance of adolescent sexual activity, which was accepted in 27% of adolescent boys and in only 7.8% of girls. The best-known contraceptive method for respondents was the condom but was seldom used (35% of boys, 37% of girls). The best understood sexually transmitted disease was AIDS. Homosexuality was better tolerated by girls, and was rejected by 26.4% of boys.