KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SEXUALITY AND REPRODUCTIV E HEALTH AMONG TEENAGERS FROM A COMMUNITY OF SANTIAGO

Nine hundred forty eight teenagers (600 females) from a public school of oner of the poorest communities of Santiago were surveyed about kno wledge and practices on sexuality and reproductive health. Twenty four percent of females and 40% of males did not talk about their problems at home, instead they talked preferentially with their friends. Half of the sample attributed a risk a pregnancy to the first sexual interc ourse; 67% did not know the infertile phase of the menstrual cycle and 20% did not identify two sexually transmitted diseases. Sixty percent considered rhythm technique as a safe fertility control method, 60% o f males and 50% of females considered masturbation as risky, 57% of ma les and 49% of females estimated that condoms could be reused and betw een 5 and 16% of the sample correctly identified AIDS modes of transmi ssion. Fifty percent had a couple and 23% of males and 17% of females had a sexual intercourse in the last six months; of these, 45% of wome n and 27% of men used a contraceptive method. Four percent of women an d 6% of men became involved in a pregnancy and 57% of these terminated in abortions. It is concluded that knowledge about sexuality and repr oductive biology among low income teenagers is scanty.