Mexican adolescent sexuality: attitudes,knowledge, and sources of information

Data from a study of the attitudes, knowledge, and sources of information of Mexican adolescents are presented. 24 male and 57 female unmarried adolescents of mean age 16.2-16.5 years (range 14-19 years) from Cuernavaca and Guadajara responded to a 66-item questionnaire. Participants were from a broad range of socioeconomic levels and 86% self-identified as being Catholic. 12 males and 4 females had experienced sexual intercourse. Responses to the questionnaire indicate that 85% had received some sex education in school, yet only 8% thought that teachers should be responsible for sex education. Further, the majority were satisfied with what they knew about sex, but the greatest mean score was 5.5 on a series of 9 knowledge questions. The youths were generally conservative, holding that people, especially females, should be married before having sex and that sex without love is unacceptable. The author hopes that these findings will help health education providers plan programs for this population in Mexico and the US.