[Reproductive health in adolescent students: knowledge, attitudes, and behavior in both sexes, in a community of Santiago].
Nine hundred forty eight teenagers (600 females) from a public school of one of the poorest communities of Santiago were surveyed about knowledge and practices on sexuality and reproductive health. Twenty four percent of females and 40% of males did not talk about their problems at home, instead they talked preferentially with their friends. Half of the sample attributed a risk a pregnancy to the first sexual intercourse; 67% did not know the infertile phase of the menstrual cycle and 20% did not identify two sexually transmitted diseases. Sixty percent considered rhythm technique as a safe fertility control method, 60% of males and 50% of females considered masturbation as risky, 57% of males and 49% of females estimated that condoms could be reused and between 5 and 16% of the sample correctly identified AIDS modes of transmission. Fifty percent had a couple and 23% of males and 17% of females had a sexual intercourse in the last six months; of these, 45% of women and 27% of men used a contraceptive method. Four percent of women and 6% of men became involved in a pregnancy and 57% of these terminated in abortions. It is concluded that knowledge about sexuality and reproductive biology among low income teenagers is scanty.
Millán
T
T
Valenzuela
S
S
Vargas
N A
NA
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002677:Chile; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012098:Reproduction; D012572:School Health Services; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Salud reproductiva en adolescentes escolares: conocimientos, actitudes y conductas en ambos sexos, en una comuna de Santiago de Chile.