Sex education in Swedish schools as described by young women
Ekstrand, Maria LU
; Engblom, Camilla
; Larsson, Margareta
and Tydén, Tanja
(2011)
In European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care
16(3).
p.210-224
- Abstract
- Objectives To investigate sex education in Swedish schools regarding content, satisfaction, and suggested improvements, as described by teenagers and young adults. Methods Waiting-room survey conducted among 225 female patients (aged 13-25) at youth and student health clinics in one large-, and one medium-sized Swedish city. Results Most participants (97%, n=218) had received sex education in school, of varying content and quality. Sixty percent thought basic body development was sufficiently covered. Insufficiently covered topics included sexual assault (96%), sexual harassment (94%), pornography (90%), abortion (81%), emergency contraception (80%), fertility (80%), and pregnancy (59%). Thirty percent received no information about... (More)
- Objectives To investigate sex education in Swedish schools regarding content, satisfaction, and suggested improvements, as described by teenagers and young adults. Methods Waiting-room survey conducted among 225 female patients (aged 13-25) at youth and student health clinics in one large-, and one medium-sized Swedish city. Results Most participants (97%, n=218) had received sex education in school, of varying content and quality. Sixty percent thought basic body development was sufficiently covered. Insufficiently covered topics included sexual assault (96%), sexual harassment (94%), pornography (90%), abortion (81%), emergency contraception (80%), fertility (80%), and pregnancy (59%). Thirty percent received no information about chlamydia, and almost half reported that condyloma and human papillomavirus had not been addressed. The youngest respondents (13-19 years) were significantly more likely to have been told about emergency contraception, homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality. Nearly half (46%) considered 'acceptable' the knowledge gained from sex education provided at school whereas more than a third considered it 'poor' or 'very poor'. Suggested improvements included more information, more discussion, greater emphasis on sexual diversity, and more knowledgeable teachers. Conclusions Content and quality of sex education varied greatly. Most respondents thought many topics were insufficiently covered, sex education should be more extensive, and teachers better educated. © 2011 The European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
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- author
- Ekstrand, Maria
LU
; Engblom, Camilla
; Larsson, Margareta
and Tydén, Tanja
- publishing date
- 2011
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- Sex education, Sweden, Teenage girls, Young women, abortion, adolescent, adult, article, Chlamydia, condyloma, emergency contraception, female, fertility, human, medical information, physical development, pregnancy, priority journal, publication, satisfaction, school, sexual crime, sexual education, sexual harassment, Adolescent, Adult, Attitude, Consumer Satisfaction, Female, Humans, Knowledge, Questionnaires, School Health Services, Schools, Sex Education, Sexual Behavior, Students, Young Adult
- in
- European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care
- volume
- 16
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 210 - 224
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:79956106823
- ISSN
- 1362-5187
- DOI
- 10.3109/13625187.2011.561937
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Export Date: 05 December 2025; Cited By: 22
- id
- cd55b387-fc9b-4294-a905-277cda79cfea
- date added to LUP
- 2025-12-05 10:10:10
- date last changed
- 2025-12-06 04:01:41
@article{cd55b387-fc9b-4294-a905-277cda79cfea,
abstract = {{Objectives To investigate sex education in Swedish schools regarding content, satisfaction, and suggested improvements, as described by teenagers and young adults. Methods Waiting-room survey conducted among 225 female patients (aged 13-25) at youth and student health clinics in one large-, and one medium-sized Swedish city. Results Most participants (97%, n=218) had received sex education in school, of varying content and quality. Sixty percent thought basic body development was sufficiently covered. Insufficiently covered topics included sexual assault (96%), sexual harassment (94%), pornography (90%), abortion (81%), emergency contraception (80%), fertility (80%), and pregnancy (59%). Thirty percent received no information about chlamydia, and almost half reported that condyloma and human papillomavirus had not been addressed. The youngest respondents (13-19 years) were significantly more likely to have been told about emergency contraception, homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality. Nearly half (46%) considered 'acceptable' the knowledge gained from sex education provided at school whereas more than a third considered it 'poor' or 'very poor'. Suggested improvements included more information, more discussion, greater emphasis on sexual diversity, and more knowledgeable teachers. Conclusions Content and quality of sex education varied greatly. Most respondents thought many topics were insufficiently covered, sex education should be more extensive, and teachers better educated. © 2011 The European Society of Contraception and Reproductive Health.}},
author = {{Ekstrand, Maria and Engblom, Camilla and Larsson, Margareta and Tydén, Tanja}},
issn = {{1362-5187}},
keywords = {{Sex education; Sweden; Teenage girls; Young women; abortion; adolescent; adult; article; Chlamydia; condyloma; emergency contraception; female; fertility; human; medical information; physical development; pregnancy; priority journal; publication; satisfaction; school; sexual crime; sexual education; sexual harassment; Adolescent; Adult; Attitude; Consumer Satisfaction; Female; Humans; Knowledge; Questionnaires; School Health Services; Schools; Sex Education; Sexual Behavior; Students; Young Adult}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{210--224}},
publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}},
series = {{European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care}},
title = {{Sex education in Swedish schools as described by young women}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/13625187.2011.561937}},
doi = {{10.3109/13625187.2011.561937}},
volume = {{16}},
year = {{2011}},
}