UNSAFE SEX AND CONTRACEPTIVE BEHAVIORS AM ONG STUDENTS FROM FRANCE, QUEBEC AND SPAIN

In the context of a transational study, 404 sexual active 17-21 years- old students living in Lyon (France), Montreal (Quebec) and Salamanque and Madrid (Spain) have answered a questionnaire dealing with their c ontraceptive patterns, their perceptions of AIDS and their risky sexua l behaviors. Results show that each group uses a different contracepti ve strategy In France and in Quebec those who had their first intercou rse before 17 years of age used oral contraceptive rather than the con dom. As for AIDS girls from Quebec had a higher index of risky sexual behaviors (CASH) than French, but the opposite was true among boys, wh ile both girls and boys from Spain adopted safer sexual behaviors. Mul tiple regression analysis shows that the CASH rests on different predi ctors according to each national context.