Type of sexual contact and precoital sexual experience in spanish adolescents

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine characterisctics of precoital sexual behaviors and types of sexual contact in adolescent. A representative sample of 4,456 Spanish high school students participated. These participants were selected by means of a stratified random sampling procedure. They completed a questionnaire about their sexual behaviour. It is a cross-sectional survey study. Differences according to age and gender in characteristics of sexual behaviour before the onset of sexual intercourse were found. Compared to females, males started non penetrative sexual experiences earlier, had a higher number of sexual partners and a higher percentage of males reported having had casual sexual partner. This study not only adds to knowledge about sexual behaviour before the initiation of sexual intercourse among adolescents, it also highlights the importance of developing sexual prevention strategies for young adolescents.