Comportement sexuel des etudiants de l'universite de Bangui (Centrafrique)

RESUMO

Encouraging re s p o n s i ble sexual behavior has become an important issue in recent ye a rs mainly due to the world-wide human immu n o d e fi c i e n cy virus (HIV) epidemic and to the high number of unwanted pregnancies that often end in highrisk abortions. Young people and in particular students in higher education are high-risk groups for both unwanted preg nancyand HIV. The purpose of this report is to describe the findings of a month-long survey conducted among students at the University of Bangui (UB) in 1998-1999. Individual students we re asked to give immediate responses to semi-open questions. The Chitest was used to assess corre l ation between a number of vari ables. A total of 422 UB students including 218 males (51.7) and 204females (48.3) were included in the survey. Mean age was 24.9 years for females and 26.1 years for males. Over half of the students of both sexes reported having their first sexual relation between the ages of 15 and 19 years. Males were more satisfied by their fi rst ex p e rience than females. The percent of married students (male or female) was 5.9. Most students (62.1) had at least 2 sex partners and 58.3had at least one child. The preferred contraceptive method was condom use for males and the Ogino technique for females. The percent of female students expressing fear of HIV infection was 27.4. The results of this study show that information and education campaigns are needed to encourage UB students to practice sexual behavior to avoid both unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV infection