A study to Assess the Knowledge and Attitude Regarding sex education among Adolescents studying in the selected schools

Sex education, also described as “sexuality education, ” encompasses education about all aspects of sexuality, including information about family planning, reproduction plus information about all aspects of one's sexuality. According to Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), estimated young people aged 15–24 years acquire half of all new STD and that 1 in 4 sexually active adolescents female have an STD such as HPV, Chlamydia. According to the HIV Estimations, the estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS in India was 20.89 lakh, with an estimated adult 0.27% of age group 15–49.

The design of the study was non experimental descriptive design, conducted among 100 adolescents in age group of 13–17 years. It was based on Modified Imogene M. Kings goal attainment theory (1981). The tools used were structured knowledge questionnaire and 5 point likert scale.

The finding revealed that 53% of the adolescents had average knowledge, 37% of the adolescents had above average and only 10% adolescents had below average knowledge. Attitude findings depicted that 70% of the adolescents had neutral attitude, followed by 19% adolescents who had positive attitude and 11% adolescents had negative attitude toward sex education. The analysis shows that there was low positive correlation (r=0.35) between knowledge and attitude regarding sex education among adolescents. Significant association was found between knowledge and attitude regarding sex education among adolescents with age and class.

The findings revealed that knowledge regarding sex education among adolescents was average and attitude towards sex education among adolescents was neutral. Hence Sex education program should be started in schools, for improving knowledge and building positive attitude.