RESUMO
To identify the differences and similarities in sexual and contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, and behavior among Latino male adolescent students living in California and Lima. Self-administered, anonymous surveys were completed by Latino male students aged 12-19 participating in California, and by male adolescent students in four high schools in Lima. Both surveys contained similar questions allowing for comparisons regarding sexual activity and contraceptive behavior. The mean age of male students were 16 and 15 years, respectively. More California males reported having engaged in sexual intercourse (69% vs 43%. The sexual debut was 13 years in both samples. More students in California were aware of their risk of pregnancy at first sexual intercourse than in Lima (82% vs 50%). One-third of the California males reported communicating with their partner about sex and contraception to be "easy" as compared to 53% of males in Lima. More students in California reported knowing a place to obtain contraceptives if they need them (85% vs 63%), having ever gotten someone pregnant (29% vs 7%), and having fathered a child (67% vs 16%).
Assuntos
Comportamento do Adolescente , Anticoncepção , Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Comportamento Sexual , Adolescente , Adulto , Criança , Comportamento Contraceptivo , Humanos , Masculino , Peru , Inquéritos e Questionários , Estados UnidosRESUMO
To document knowledge and attitudes regarding sexuality and sexual practices of male adolescent high school students in Lima, Peru, a self-administered, anonymous survey was completed by 991 male adolescents aged 12-19 as part of a School-Based Sex Education Intervention model. Questions concerned sociodemographic information; family characteristics; personal activities; knowledge and attitudes regarding sexuality; sexual experience; and contraceptive use. Knowledge related to sexuality was limited. Males tended to mainly discuss sexuality with their male peers (49.8%). Attitudes towards sexual activity and condom use were largely positive, although some males expressed ambivalent feelings towards the latter. Of the sample, 43% had ever had sex; age at first sexual intercourse was 13 years. While 88% of the sample would use condoms, 74% also gave reasons for not using them. Sexual activity was related to age, ever having repeated a grade, living with only one parent or in a mixed family, activities such as going to parties, use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs, and viewing pornographic videos or magazines. Many male adolescents were at risk of causing an unintended pregnancy or acquiring an STD.
Assuntos
Comportamento do Adolescente , Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Comportamento Sexual , Adolescente , Análise de Variância , Criança , Comportamento Contraceptivo , Humanos , Masculino , Peru , SexualidadeRESUMO
This article presents the preliminary findings of the Survey on Teenagers and Youth Reproductive Behavior in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City, which contains information on 1,010 teenagers and young adults from 10 to 25 years of age interviewed in 1987. The average age was 17 years; 51.7 per cent of those interviewed were male and 48.3 per cent were female. A total of 14.6 per cent were married, being the average age at marriage 19.2 years for males and 17.8 years for females. Menarche occurred at an average age of 12.4 years, and spermarche at 14. Of those interviewed, 32.7 per cent have had sexual intercourse at least once in their lives. The average age at which sexual activity had begun, in the case of males, was 16 years and for females, 17 years. Of this group, 33.8 per cent stated that they had used some form of contraception during the first sexual intercourse; the contraceptive methods used most often were rhythm and withdrawal. The main source of supply of other methods is the pharmacy, in 67 per cent. 18.4 per cent of women had been pregnant, and 20.4 per cent of men's partners had presented this same condition. The first pregnancy occurred at 17.8 years for women and 18.7 for men. Of those men and women with a pregnancy experience 66.1 per cent and 57.3 per cent, respectively, stated that their first pregnancy was an unplanned one. Also, first pregnancy was related to their first marriage in 48.1 per cent of women and 82.4 per cent of male. The data presented here will reinforce current knowledge and will enable us to obtain a profile of the reproductive behavior of teenagers and young adults in the metropolitan area of Mexico City.