A survey on the sexual behavior of adolescents in South Korea: The third survey in 2007.

Lee, Im Soon; Choi, Gyu Yeon; Cha, Sang Heon; Park, Hye Yeon; Lee, Jeong Jae

doi:2010.53.6.512

Obstet Gynecol Sci > Volume 53(6); 2010 > Article

Original Article

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2010;53(6):512-519.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5468/kjog.2010.53.6.512 Published online June 1, 2010.

A survey on the sexual behavior of adolescents in South Korea: The third survey in 2007.

Im Soon Lee, Gyu Yeon Choi, Sang Heon Cha, Hye Yeon Park, Jeong Jae Lee

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. kychoi@hosp.sch.ac.kr

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
The survey was conducted to improve the health of Korean adolescents and to prepare adequate teaching programs by investigating their sexual behavior. METHODS: The participants of the survey was 80,000 middle and high school students aged 13 to 18. The survey was conducted from September 1st, 2007 to September 22nd, 2007. RESULTS: 78,834 students were surveyed and 74,698 (94.8%) students responded the survey. 35,232 (47.2%) of respondents were male students and 39,466 (52.8%) of respondents were female students. 38,820 (52.0%) of respondents were middle school students, 25,051 (33.5%) of respondents were high school students and 10,827 (14.5%) of respondents were technical high school students. 5.2% of respondents experienced sexual intercourse. The average age of the first sexual intercourse was 14.2 years old. 1.0% of respondents had a sexual intercourse before they enter the middle school. The pregnancy rate was 0.3%. Among respondents who experienced sexual intercourse, the rate of the use of contraceptive methods was 38.2%. The rate of using inappropriate contraceptive methods was 21.6%. The average age of a first wet dream for boys was 13.2 years old. The average age of menarche for girls was 12.4 year old. The rate of respondents who had a sex education was 72.2%. CONCLUSION: The average age of the first wet dream and menarche had been decreased. The average age of the first sex experience among adolescents had been decreased. The rate of adolescents who experienced a sexual intercourse was increased. However, the rate of using reliable contraceptive methods was very low. Therefore, adequate sex educations including effective contraceptive methods needs to be conducted to prevent unwanted pregnancy of adolescents.

Key Words: Sexual behavior, Contraception, Sex education