Oral sex: behaviours and feelings of Canadian young women and implications for sex education.
OBJECTIVE
Anecdotal reports indicate that, over the past decade, oral sex has become an increasingly common and casual activity among adolescent females. To investigate the validity of this claim the authors set out to study the oral sex practices of young women in Canada and to explore the attitudes and emotions that young women associate with oral sex.


METHODS
An anonymous self-report questionnaire, which contained questions pertaining to both vaginal intercourse and oral sex, was completed by 181 women aged 18-25 years.


RESULTS
Approximately three quarters of the women in this sample had engaged in oral sex, a prevalence rate that was almost identical to that for vaginal intercourse. The mean age at first experience was approximately 17 years for both coitus and oral sex, though 27% of the sexually active participants had their first oral sex experience before age 16 (compared to 16% for coitus). Most women had their most recent sexual experiences within committed relationships and reported positive emotions associated with those experiences. Negative emotions at most recent oral sex were more commonly reported by the younger women in the sample and by those who were not in love with their partner.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that oral sex is at least as common as vaginal intercourse and that it has the same emotional implications for young women. Therefore, this topic should be given the same consideration as coitus within the context of sex education. Young people must be informed about risks, protective factors, and emotional implications associated with engagement in oral sex.
Malacad
Brea L
BL
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. brea.malacad@ualberta.ca
Hess
Gretchen C
GC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D003075:Coitus; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult