MEXICAN ADOLESCENT SEXUALITY - ATTITUDES, KNOWLEDGE, AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION

This study examined the attitudes, knowledge, and sources of informati on of 81 Mexican adolescents. Findings indicated that 85% of the adole scents had received some sex education in school, but only 8% believed that teachers should be responsible for sex education. The majority w ere satisfied with what they knew about sex. However on a series of 9 knowledge questions, the greatest mean score was 5.5. Finally, informa tion elicited regarding attitudes was generally conservative, with mos t respondents indicating that people (especially females) should be ma rried before they have sex and that sex without love is not okay. This article contributes to the limited literature on Mexican adolescent s exuality in an effort to increase the ability of health education prov iders to plan programs for this population, both in Mexico and in the United States.