A Survey of Sexual Knowledge, Attitudes, Desire and Behavior among University Students

Sexual health (SH) and sexual behavior of young people have become a growing public concern. But few studies have been conducted to investigate the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of this phenomenon. Purpose: To understand college students’ sexual knowledge (SK), sexual attitudes (SA), sexual desire (SD) and sexual behavior (SB). Methods: A self-reported questionnaire survey on SK, SA, SD, and SB was conducted among 520 university students. Their demographic data, SK, SA, SD, and SB were assessed. Results: A total of 500 students completed the questionnaire. The SKS total score had a mean of 23.05; 105 (21.0%) subjects had had premarital sex; 121 (24.2%) had a partner; 117 (23.4%) had a medical educational background. The results demonstrated an increased risk of premarital sex amongst males and subjects with the risk factors of smoking, drinking, having a partner, and having higher levels of SD and SK and more open SA. Conclusions: This study provides support for the idea that university students lack SK (especially regarding contraception knowledge), even though the students had a medical educational background. Additionally, a considerable amount of them engaged in premarital SB. Our findings also suggest that university students need sex education, particularly in combining sexuality with their life, in relating to others maturely as a sexual individual, in employing contraception, and in preventing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Our study suggests that interventions aimed at expanding university students’ SK and other related skills are required. Keywords-University students; Sexual behavior; Sexual knowledge; Sexual attitude