title: A study of the sexual behavior of teenagers in south Brazil.
abstract: A study of sexual behavior among teenagers was carried out in a random sample of 884 second degree school (high school) students of Porto Alegre (South Brazil) by means of a self-report questionnaire. The students' ages ranged from 13 to 22 years old, and 59% of them were females. The students believed themselves well-informed about physiologic phenomena involved in human reproduction (95.2%; 95% confidence interval (CI):93.5-96.5) and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) (82.1%; 95% CI:79.1-84.7). In addition, 42.4% (95% CI:39.0-45.8) said that they has had a sexual relationship. However, 51.5% (95% CI:45.9-57.0) did not use contraceptive precautions systematically, and 12% (95% CI:7.2-19.0) of girls had already undergone an abortion. Considering these results, it is important to stimulate programs for sexual education strictly focused on teenagers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Hospital de Clínicas, School of Medicine, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: De Souza
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: De Almeida
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: I I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Zimerman
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: De Almeida
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caleffi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Puperi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001938:Brazil; D003268:Contraception Behavior; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012736:Sex Education; D012737:Sex Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*