Sexual Experiences and Their Correlates Among College Students in Mumbai City , India

the rise, especially in urban areas, where an estimated 20–25% of unmarried young males and 6–10% of unmarried young females have experienced premarital sex.1 Other studies indicate that while adolescents’ attitudes toward premarital sex are becoming more liberal, their awareness of contraceptives remains poor.2 Studies on abortion and on the prevalence of STDs in India, though few, confirm that much premarital sex is unprotected. Adolescents constitute a sizable proportion of women seeking abortions (more than one-quarter at some sites), and the typical adolescent abortion seeker is unmarried; additionally, unmarried women tend to delay seeking abortion, often until the second trimester, which could result in serious health problems.*3 A study conducted among STD clinic patients in an urban center noted that about 75% of clients were 18–19 years of age.4 The few studies that have examined adolescent sexuality differ significantly from each other in their objectives, approaches and methodologies. Recent reviews of research on sexual behavior5 and adolescent sexuality6 have cautioned that these studies are limited and that their findings cannot be generalized, because they are based on very small samples or convenience samples, made up mainly of Leena Abraham is senior lecturer and K. Anil Kumar is lecturer, both at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India. The research on which this article is based was funded by The Rockefeller Foundation and coordinated by the International Center for Research on Women. Sexual Experiences and Their Correlates Among College Students in Mumbai City, India