Adolescents’ knowledge, beliefs and experiences regarding sexual practices

Abstract

Explores and describes what adolescents view as being safer or risky sex practice. Differentiates between their sexual practice by gender and sexual experience. Indicates that the adolescents were able to identify what are regarded as safer or risky sexual practices, but that when expressing their lived experiences of sexual practices, the participants were still engaging in risky sexual behaviour. Stresses the need to acknowledge that young people are sexual beings. Suggests that the focus of sexuality education should shift from that of disease prevention instead to looking at the more socially-oriented health-enhancing behaviour such as teaching adolescents about sexual development, sexual behaviour and its possible negative outcomes, sexual abuse, gender issues and power relations and other nonsexual ways of showing affection