RELIGIOSITY, SEXUAL INTERCOURSE AND CONDOM USE AMONG UNIVERSITY-STUDENTS

There is strong evidence that religiosity among adolescents is associa ted with delayed onset of sexual activity. However, research on relati onships between religiosity and contraceptive practices is limited and inconsistent. This paper provides data from a survey of 374 students aged between 16 and 21 at two Brisbane universities (72.4 per cent res ponse rate). Those who perceived religion to be important in their liv es were less likely to have had intercourse. Among the sexually active sample, religious youth did not differ from their peers in recent con dom use, the age at which they first used condoms or the rate of partn er change. Contrary to several recent assertions in review articles, t his and other empirical studies do not show that religious youth are l ess likely than nonreligious youth to take precautions during sex.