AN EXPLORATION OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOURS ( KAB) TOWARDS PRE-MARITAL SEX: A STUDY AMONG YOUTHS WHO LIVING IN RENTED-ROOMS IN HUE CITY

Purpose: : i) Explore of the KAB concerning pre-marital sex among youths who are living in rented rooms in Hue  ii) Determine the factors that contribute to the development of certain current KAB among youths concerning pre-marital sex. 

Method(s):

Studied a randomly selected cluster-population of 730 youths, aged from 16 to 30 living in rented-rooms in Hue city in 2015. The data was analyzed by SPSS 18.0 software. 

Result(s):  6.6% - 19.5% did not know any knowledge related to pre-marital sex,  34.1%  accepted pre-marital sex with different levels, 11.9% have had pre-marital sex, with the average age of the first sexual encounter at 19.8 ± 2.2 years of age; attained an understanding about pre-marital sex related to gender and age group; described the attitude of pre-marital sex as it relates to gender, age group, marital/love status, awareness of the consequences associated to pre-marital sex and knowledge about preventative measures of STDs ; described the behaviour of pre-marital sex related to gender, age group, marital/love status, understanding of consequences of pre-marital sex and attitude toward pre-marital sex.

Conclusion(s): There is an increasing trend in pre-marital sex and the age of first pre-marital sexual encounter is decreasing. Also, the education of and the knowledge among youths concerning safe and responsible sex are limited in the population in this study. These findings can lead to serious consequences for people engaging in pre-marital sex.  Therefore, reproductive health education and safe sex programs need to be implemented to encourage positive attitudes and behaviours among young people in Hue.

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