Purpose: To establish rates of potentially risky sexual behaviors among Colombian adolescent students.
Methods: A total of 230 9th and 11th graders at a Colombian high school (69% of enrolled students) were anonymously surveyed about selected reproductive health behaviors using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's self-administered Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Results: The response rate was >90%. The group was demographically representative of students. Twenty-nine percent of the group had engaged in intercourse (13% of 9th and 43% of 11th graders). Male gender [beta = 0.7873; odds ratio (OR) = 2.09; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.57-3.08] and increasing age (beta = 0.3413; OR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.02-1.93) were each significantly correlated with prior sexual activity. Compared with females, males initiated intercourse at a significantly earlier age (beta = 0.284; p < .001) but did not report significantly more partners (means 2.1 vs. 1.4; chi2 = 1.25; p = .262). Forty-eight percent of respondents used contraception during their last encounter. Sixty-three percent used oral contraceptives or condoms, while the remainder used less effective methods. Contraceptive use did not correlate with gender or age. Age was significantly and positively correlated with use of alcohol prior to sexual activity (B = 1.28; OR = 3.6; 95% CI = 1.49-8.44).
Conclusions: Compared with U.S. populations of similar ages, the Colombian group surveyed had fewer sexually active members, reported fewer partners, and used contraception with lower frequency.
PIP: A survey on the reproductive health risk behaviors of adolescent students in Colombia was conducted. 230 9th and 11th graders participated in a survey using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's self-administered Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The sample was composed of 62% females and 38% males, aged 13-18 years. It was found that 29% had engaged in sexual intercourse; among these, 13% were 9th graders and 43% were 11th graders. Increasing age and male gender were significantly correlated with past sexual activity. Older males have more prevalent sexual activity than older females, while younger adolescents showed no gender differences. Male gender was significantly associated with early age of initiation of intercourse. Furthermore, 48% reported using contraception during their last sexual encounter, of which 63% used an effective method (condom, oral contraception, withdrawal) and 37% used a method of low or unknown efficacy. Use of alcohol prior to the last sexual intercourse accounted for 14%. The majority of the participants had discussed or received information on HIV infection at school (92%) or from family (77%). Results showed unmet health needs of the adolescent groups and lower frequency of contraceptive use.