Abstract

GONZALEZ, Juan C. An adolescent student population's knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding sexuality. Rev. salud pública [online]. 2009, vol.11, n.1, pp.14-26. ISSN 0124-0064.

Objective Assessing the relationship between knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding high-risk sexual behaviour in adolescent sexuality as well as the structure and perception of family functionality. Methods Cross-sectional research was carried out on a population of 13,699 adolescents (ages ranging from 10 to 19) attending 12 public schools from the conurbation of Suba. A self-questionnaire was administered, focusing on sexual behaviour, knowledge, attitudes and the structure and perception of family dynamics. Results Average age was 13.5. Sexual activity prevalence was 17%. 8% of households suffered from severe dysfunction. 39% of households were incomplete nuclear ones. Females reported less sexual activity than males (0.53 OR; 0.47-0.59 95%CI). Sexual activity was more common when adolescents perceived family dysfunction (2.06 OR; 1.72-2.48 95%CI). Conclusions Perception of family function was more important than structure as a risk factor in youngsters' sexuality.

Keywords : Adolescent; sexuality; health knowledge; attitude; practice; family relationships; school.

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