Current status and association analysis of sexual attitudes， sexual safety awareness and refusal skills among junior high school students in the suburbs of Shanghai / 上海预防医学

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo understand the acceptance of sex-related behaviors， sexual safety awareness， and refusal skills among junior high school students and conduct association analysis， and to provide a reference for the implementation of sex and reproductive health education for adolescents. MethodsA questionnaire survey related to knowledge of sexual and reproductive health was conducted among 478 students from two junior high schools in Jiading District， Shanghai. ResultsThe pass rate for sex and reproductive health knowledge among junior high school students was only 36.6%， with acceptance rates for dating， watching pornography， engaging in sexual behavior， pregnancy， and artificial abortion at 24.5%， 11.1%， 5.6%， 4.8%， and 5.9%， respectively. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that students who passed the sexual and reproductive health assessment had a significantly lower acceptance rate of sex-related behaviors than those who did not （aOR=1.666， 95%CI： 1.124‒2.470， P=0.011）. Adolescents with a passing knowledge of sexual and reproductive health （aOR=1.607， 95%CI： 1.060‒2.438， P=0.026） or a lower acceptance of sex-related behaviors （aOR=4.199， 95%CI： 2.804‒6.289， P<0.001） had higher awareness of sexual safety. Adolescents with a passing knowledge of sexual and reproductive health （aOR=1.691， 95%CI： 1.066‒2.684， P=0.026）， a lower acceptance of sex-related behaviors （aOR=1.756， 95%CI： 1.130‒2.729， P=0.012）， or higher awareness of sexual safety （aOR=2.872， 95%CI： 1.826‒4.516， P<0.001） had stronger skills to refuse sex-related behaviors. ConclusionSexual and reproductive attitudes， sexual safety awareness， and refusal skills for sex-related behaviors among junior high school students in Jiading District need to be improved. Schools should focus on cultivating adolescents’ sexual and reproductive knowledge and related skills， and advocate for relevant institutions to provide appropriate sexual healthcare services to meet their needs for reproductive healthcare.