Sexual Myths and Sexual Health Knowledge Levels of Turkish University Students

Abstract

This research was conducted to determine sexual myths and sexual health knowledge levels of Turkish university students. The research is descriptive research. It was performed between 8 and 12 February 2015 in a state university in Turkey. The study sample consisted of 1379 students. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Sexual Myths Scale (SMS) and Sexual Health Knowledge Test (SHKT). Data were analyzed in the SPSS program. The mean age of students was 21.7 +/- 1.27 years. Their first sources for obtaining information about sexuality related issues were as follows: peer/friends (59.1%), internet (42.5%), written materials (31.5%). SMS mean score of the students was 82.21 +/- 17.37. SHKT mean score of the students was 19.94 +/- 6.16. The SMS mean score of the male students was higher than that of the female students. The students living in urban areas had a lower SMS mean score and a higher SHKT mean score than did the students living in the rural areas. The students having well-educated mothers had a lower SMS mean score and a higher SHKT mean score than did the students with low-educated mothers (p < 0.05). There was a statistically significant negative correlation between SMS and SHKT. It is recommended that school-based education programs should be extended and that the peer education model should be integrated into the existing education programs to reduce the number of sexual myths among young people at risk and to increase their sexual health information.