ADOLESCENT’S KNOWLEDGE ABOUT REPRODUCTION, FAMILY PLANNING AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES

Background: Adolescents have been considered a risk group when it comes to sexual behaviours. Given that a great part of human action is learnt during the second decade of life, it is of great pertinence to aim for programmes that empower adolescents regarding their sexuality. This project intends to evaluate if a school context formative intervention on sexuality produces effect on the knowledge about family planning and sexually transmitted diseases.
Methods: This is an investigation-action project, carried out through a formative intervention programme, with a sample of 840 adolescents (441 male and 399 female), with an average age of 14.4 years, attending the 9th grade in the district of Viseu. The data gathering instrument included a biographic questionnaire and three scales built and validated for this purpose, about reproduction, family planning and sexually transmitted diseases. The instruments were applied before and after the formative intervention.
Results: Concerning the knowledge about family planning, the study reveals a positive (r=0,492) and significant (0,000) correlation. The mean values after the formation are higher and the t test presented a statistic significance (t=-2,165; p=0,031). Regarding the knowledge about reproduction the correlation is positive (r=0,505) and significant (p=0,000). The mean values after the formation are higher than those obtained, although without statistic significance. Concerning the knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases, the correlation between the values obtained before and after the formation is positive (r=0,530) and significant (p=0,000). We found an average difference of -0,365 between the first and the second moment of evaluation; however, there were no significant statistic differences.
Conclusion: The results allow us to conclude that the implemented formation contributed to the acquisition of knowledge about sexuality. The presentation about family planning with training through a pedagogic model seams to be a good resource to obtain knowledge that prevents pregnancy in adolescence and sexually transmitted diseases.