Sex education among Portuguese adolescent students

The purpose of this study was to assess the importance of sex education in school context and its effects in sexual behaviour, knowledge and attitudes regarding HIV among adolescents. The sample included 5050 Portuguese adolescent students from the Portuguese HBSC study. This study uses a subset of 8th and 10th graders (n=3494). Results showed adolescents who had sex education classes mentioned more often not having had sexual intercourse, better knowledge regarding HIV and more positive attitudes about HIV infected people. This study suggests positive associations between receiving sex education and protective sexual behaviours, knowledge and attitudes.