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  • Title: Sexual behaviour of adolescents before and after the advent of AIDS.
    Author: Ostergaard L.
    Journal: Genitourin Med; 1997 Dec; 73(6):448-52. PubMed ID: 9582458.
    Abstract:
    OBJECTIVES: To asses changes in sexual behaviour and use of contraceptive methods in Danish adolescents from the period before the advent of AIDS up to the present. DESIGN: Comparative study comparing data obtained from two identical cross sectional surveys SETTING: Grenaa Gymnasium, Denmark. SUBJECTS: 626 high school students in 1982 and 499 high school students in 1996. METHODS: An anonymous standardised self administered questionnaire handed out to high school students at Grenaa Gymnasium in spring 1982. In spring 1996 an identical questionnaire was handed out to every high school student at the same gymnasium. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age at first sexual intercourse, contraceptive use, and reasons for choice of contraceptive strategy. RESULTS: Today more males had experienced the first sexual intercourse before their 16th birthday (p = 0.047) compared with 1982, the reverse held for females (p = 0.003). From 1982 to 1996 condom use increased in males with no regular partner (p = 0.009). In females with no regular partner, there was during the same period an increase in considering the condom a personal contraceptive method (p = 0.017). In 1982 and 1996 protection from sexually transmitted diseases was given as reason for the choice of contraceptive strategy by 21% and 72% of males with no regular partner (p < 0.001), and by 7% and 32% of males with a regular partner (p < 0.001). The corresponding figures for females in 1982 and 1996 were 10% and 71% (p < 0.001) for those with no regular partner and 4% and 21% (p < 0.001) for those with a regular partner. CONCLUSION: Condom use has increased among adolescents with no regular partner brought up under the widespread awareness of AIDS, and the reason for this is to be protected from sexually transmitted diseases. A future decline in the incidence of various sexually transmitted diseases may be expected, and information on safe sexual practices should be continued. This document presents a comparative study which assesses the changes in sexual behavior and use of contraceptive methods among adolescents from the period before AIDS was discovered as a sexually transmitted life-threatening disease up to the present. Identical questionnaires were used to gather the desired information from 626 high school students in 1982 and 499 high school students in 1996 at Grenaa Gymnasium, Denmark. The main outcome measurements used were 1) age at first instance of sexual intercourse 2) contraceptive use and 3) reason for the choice of contraceptive strategy. The results revealed that more males had their first sexual instance of intercourse before their 16th birthday in 1996 (37.2%) than in 1982 (23.7%), while the reverse was noted for females--28.7% in 1996 compared with 41.6% in 1982. There was also an increase in condom use among sexually active males from 61% in 1982 to 91% in 1996. The percentage of sexually active females who considered condom use as their own personal contraceptive method also increased from zero in 1982 to 9% in 1996. In 1982 and 1996, the percentage of males who stated protection from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as a reason for their choice of contraceptive strategy significantly increased from 21% to 72% (males with no regular partner) and from 7% to 32% (males with regular partners). A corresponding increase was also noted among females from 10% to 71% (females with no regular partner) and from 4% to 21% (females with regular partners). Furthermore, the use of IUDs was more popular among females in 1982 than oral contraceptives, which were more widely used in 1996. This study concludes by stating that given the widespread awareness of AIDS and the continuation of education about safe sex practices among the youth, a decrease in the incidence of STDs in the future may be expected.
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