A survey on the sexual behavior of adolescents in South Korea: The third survey in 2007

Abstract

Objective: The survey was conducted to improve the health of Korean adolescents and to prepare adequate teaching programs by investigating their sexual behavior. Methods: The participants of the survey was 80,000 middle and high school students aged 13 to 18. The survey was conducted from Results: 78,834 students were surveyed and 74,698 (94.8%) students responded the survey. 35,232 (47.2%) of respondents were male students and 39,466 (52.8%) of respondents were female students. 38,820 (52.0%) of respondents were middle school students, 25,051 (33.5%) of respondents were high school students and 10,827 (14.5%) of respondents were technical high school students. 5.2% of respondents experienced sexual intercourse. The average age of the first sexual intercourse was 14.2 years old. 1.0% of respondents had a sexual intercourse before they enter the middle school. The pregnancy rate was 0.3%. Among respondents who experienced sexual intercourse, the rate of the use of contraceptive methods was 38.2%. The rate of using inappropriate contraceptive methods was 21.6%. The average age of a first wet dream for boys was 13.2 years old. The average age of menarche for girls was 12.4 year old. The rate of respondents who had a sex education was 72.2%. Conclusion: The average age of the first wet dream and menarche had been decreased. The average age of the first sex experience among adolescents had been decreased. The rate of adolescents who experienced a sexual intercourse was increased. However, the rate of using reliable contraceptive methods was very low. Therefore, adequate sex educations including effective contraceptive methods needs to be conducted to prevent unwanted pregnancy of adolescents. 지난 수십년간 대부분의 국가들은 도시화, 산업화, 정보 화로 급격한 사회의 변환기를 맞으면서 세계의 젊은이들은 여러 매체를 통해 다양한 정보에 노출되었다. 이러한 변화 는 지역간, 국가간 문화나 가치관과 행동의 차이를 좁히는 결과를 야기하였으며, 이는 다시 젊은이들의 성행태를 포 함한 다양한 생활 형태에 큰 영향을 미치고 있다. 결과적으로 젊은이들이 성인기를 준비하는 연령대가 과거에 비하여 급속