title: Sexual activity, knowledge and contraceptive usage by gender among university students in Turkey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess sexual activity and contraceptive knowledge and practice by gender among university students.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive and cross-sectional study conducted at Ege University, Turkey, with 1000 volunteering students. Data collection was stopped when 500 students of each gender had participated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the surveyed students, 50.3% (27.4% female, 73.2% male) reported having had sexual intercourse; the mean age at first sexual intercourse was 18.4 years for girls and 16.9 years for boys. We found that 44.5% of female and 30.6% of male students failed to use contraception at their first coitus, whereas 2.2% of female and 13.7% of male students failed to do so at their most recent intercourse. The rate of condom usage for students' first sexual encounter was 50.1% (35.8% female, 55.5% male) and was 67.8% (70.1% female, 66.9% male) at their most recent intercourse. Abortion was mentioned by 43.9% of female and 39.2% of male students as a method of preventing pregnancy after unprotected coitus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Male Turkish students had started sexual relations at a younger age but had less often unprotected first sex than female students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Nursing, Ege University School of Nursing, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey. hatice.bal.yilmaz@ege.edu.tr
authors.forename: Hatice Bal
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: Oya
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kavlak
authors.forename: Senay Unsal
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Atan
mesh_terms: D003268:Contraception Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female; D003272:Contraceptive Agents, Male; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012737:Sex Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014421:Turkey; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female; D003272:Contraceptive Agents, Male