The Current Status of Knowledge and Behavior Related to STI Prevention among High School Students in Korea

This study explores coping with STIs and related factors including knowledge, sexual behavior, and sex education among Korean adolescents. Anonymous self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 135 male and 150 female high school students. The results showed that 2.1% of participants had had sexual experience. Males had less information than females (p<0.05); 38.5% of males did not consult anyone. In contrast, females acquired information from and consulted with their parents. Although females' sexual abstinence behavior was higher than that of males (p<0.001), there were no significant differences in the STI knowledge test. Regarding sex education, 32.4–59.5% of students had received education on STIs. Students' degree of satisfaction with sexual knowledge was 10.2%, their understanding of STIs was poor, and they could not cope with having a checkup. In conclusion, high school students receive insufficient education to protect themselves from STIs. Their knowledge was not related to sexual abstinence behavior and coping behavior. Therefore, schools in Korea should provide high school students with appropriate education on STI prevention and coping behavior. In addition, an environment that facilitates consultation and clinics for helping young people deal with sexual problems should be provided.

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