Abstract:

CLISSIS, the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (ICS-ULisboa) and the Association for Family Planning (APF) carried out between 2018 and 2021 the research project “The Sexual Education of Portuguese Young People - Knowledge and Sources”.

The 2021 study replicated another study with the same name, carried out in 2007, by the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (ICS-ULisboa) and the Association for Family Planning (APF) in 62 secondary schools across the country, through the application of a questionnaire survey to a sample of 2621 10th and 12th grade students.

In a context of public debate and legislative changes that were then taking place in Portuguese society regarding Sexual Education at School, an attempt was made to determine the level of knowledge of young people about sexual education and the role of the School in this matter. The results of the study showed that the majority of young people had a very satisfactory level of knowledge, despite the greater illiteracy regarding topics such as contraceptive methods and sexually transmitted infections and they resorted very little to health professionals and services.

Since then, Portuguese society has seen major changes in the lives of young people – the extension of compulsory schooling to 12 years (Law no. of online content and social networks have become enormously important as sources of information, etc. – so it became pertinent to carry out a second edition of the study and update the information.

On the other hand, the new subject Citizenship and Development was created, resulting from DL n. 55/2018, of July 6, which implements the National Strategy for Citizenship Education in schools. Sexuality (diversity, rights, sexual and reproductive health) is one of the seventeen domains that make up the curricular component of the discipline, within the framework of the Referential for Health Promotion and Education (PES) that defines affections and education for sexuality as one of five global themes.

The 2021 study collected data from 43 secondary schools in all regions of the country, covering 2319 male and female students, using the same questionnaire used in 2008, with minor changes to adapt to the new temporal context. Data were processed using IBM SPSS.

This communication intends to present the results of the 2021 study on the levels and sources of information of Portuguese young people in the area of sexuality, their prevention practices in the area of health, and the role of the Family, the School and other educational agents in these matters, comparing their data with those obtained in the 2008 study, thus allowing the identification of changes in the time interval under analysis.

Keywords:

School Sexuality Education, Portugal, 2008-2021.