Sexual and Contraceptive Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior of Male Adolescents

A 1974 profile of male adolescent sexuality and contraceptive knowledge is based on a survey of 421 students aged 12 to 19 from three urban high schools in a northeastern American city. 30% of the respondents were black 38% Hispanic and 32% white; mean age was 16.3. Male friends proved to be the most frequent sournce of sexual and contraceptive knowledge; less than 11% of the boys within each ethnic group had acquired information from a family member. A majority of the respondents understood the condoms contraceptive use but far fewer were aware of the protection it offers against veneral disease. 2/3 were aware of the contraceptive unreliability of the douche but only about 1/3 knew that pregnancy could result from the practice of withdrawal during coitus. While 2/3 knew of sperms survival time after ejaculation less than 1/2 could identify the conception phase of the menstrual cycle. Mean age for initial sexual experience was 12.8 years; subsequent sexual activity appeared sporadic. At last coitus 55% of the sexually active respondents used no contraception or relied on withdrawal or their partners douching. Among all sexually active males only 15% reported using a condom for each coitus while 50% reported hardly ever or never using one. The evidence that sexual activity may begin as early as age 13 among adolescent males indicates that many sex education courses are inappropriately times and designed. Sex education in junior high school would provide correct information especially concerning contraception before rather than after iniation to sexual activity.