A SURVEY OF STUDENTS KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS FAMILY LIFE AND SEX EDUCATION

Abstract

The study of cognition and attitudes toward family life and sex, particularly among the young population, is one of the important areas of health behavior. This study attempts to find the degree of knowledge and attitudes of the female students of Teheran University. The findings reveal that although the girls under the study expressed some attitudes towards family life not common in the traditional cultural patterns of Iranian society, such as selecting their own future husband, and prefer to have a boyfriend before marriage. However, they lacked the basic information on the subject of human reproductive system, family planning and venereal disease. The findings on the desired number of children by the study group indicate that family planning education has not reached this target population and /or has had no affect on their attitudes. On the basis of the findings of this and other studies and the available literatures, a family life and sex education programme at high school level should be included in the high school curriculum in Iranian system of education.