A SEXUAL EDUCATION-PROGRAM ON KNOWLEDGE, SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR AND CONTRACEPTION IN ADOLESCENTS

In Latin America only some educational programs, based on systematic r esearch on the needs of adolescents, have been developed and even fewe r have been adequately evaluated. Most of the evaluations present seri ous methodological defficiencies and refer mainly to sexual and contra ceptive knowledge, and in less degree, to behaviors related to initiat ing sexual activities and contraceptive use. ''Planeando tu Vida'' is a sex educational program developed on the bases of exploration resear ch carried out in Mexico. It was evaluated in 1632 students of public high schools. Subjects were asigned at random to the control and exper imental groups. A baseline, an evaluation immediately after finishing the course and a six months follow-up were carried out. The results sh ow that: The courses had no effect on the sexual activity of the adole scents. When they attend the course before having their sexual debut, the possibility of using contraceptives is significantly increased. He adolescents who participated in the course had a higher degree of kno wledge about sexuality and contraception and a higher level of percept ion of access to contraception and of contraceptive use in the follow- up. The results obtained in this study bear special relevance in Latin american countries in which sex education is not integrated to most sc hool programs. Based on the results of this study, the Instituto Mexic ano de Investigacion de Familia y Poblacion (IMIFAP) is developing pro grams and matherials for children from preschool through high school i ncluding teachers and parents.