PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to describe the sexual behavior, health risk related to reproductive health, and characteristics of sexual experience among college students in Korea.
METHODS
Six thousands college students were selected through proportional quota sampling based on region, college, and gender. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used to describe the data.
RESULTS
Thirty eight percent (N=2,285) of the participants reported sexual intercourse. The mean age of first time sexual intercourse was 19.3 years old. Respondents reported the following health risks such as smoking, drinking, not exercising, no regular meal patterns, chronic disease status, and weight loss over 10 kg in the past three months showed significant differences by sexual intercourse experience (p<.01). Among those who had sexual intercourse experiences, 7.1% of them reported having a history of STDs and 11.6% reported a pregnancy or pregnancy of one's partner.
CONCLUSION
The findings of this study reflect the current trends of sex behaviors among college students and correlations between health risks related to reproductive health and sexual intercourse experiences. Developing reproductive health education programs based on the findings and providing the programs to college students through a school nurse is suggested.
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