Resumen

SANTANA PEREZ, Felipe; OVIES CARBALLO, Gisel; VERDEJA VARELA, Olga Lidia  y  FLEITAS RUIZ, Reina. Characteristics of the first sexual relation of adolescentes in the City of Havana. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2006, vol.32, n.3. ISSN 0864-3466.

Background: Most of the sexual and reproductive health problems affecting the adolescentes are linked to early sexual initiation. Objectives: To determine the characteristics of the first sexual relation in a group of adolescent students in the City of Havana. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was applied to 1,675 adolescents aged 15 to 18 years, who studied at polytechnical and high school educational systems and lived in the City of Havana , grouped into 6 strata. Estimations were made to decide on the sampling size. The informed consent by the Board of Parents and the students was obtained. The questionnaire was under a pilot study. Some of the screened variables were sexual initiation, age of the sex partner, motivation and risk perception. Results: 71,3 % of adolescents had had sexual relations. The average age at sexual initiation was 14,3 years. Sexual relations with the boyfriend or the girlfriend of the adolescent predominated. The prevailing reason for sexual initiation was “desire of trying out” in males and “being in love” in females. The vast majority of adolescents believed that having sex at their age was risky. Conclusions: The average age at sexual initiation in the group was comparable to that found in other research works conducted in Cuba and in the area. The motivations differeed between males and females. Knowing the risks did not lead to retardation of sexual intercourse initiation

Palabras clave : Sexual relations; adolescence; sexual health.