Sexual behaviour of two generations of university students in Osijek

The aim of the study was to investigate sexual behaviour of fi rst-year students at the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek inthe academic years 2005/2006 and 2015/2016, and to identify diff erences between genders and generations.Methods: The study included 1229 students, 599 (47.1% of girls) in the academic year 2005/2006, and 630 (52.5% of girls) in theacademic year 2015/2016. From medical records, data on age, sex and sexual behaviour were used. Data were analyzed by themethods of descriptive statistics.Results: Out of the total number of respondents, sexual intercourse had 65.4% of students in 2005/2006 and 62.9% in 2015/2016. In2005/2006, the age at fi rst sexual intercourse was 17 years for most males (41.0%) and 18 years for most females (38.9%); in 2015/2016,the age at fi rst sexual intercourse was 18 years for both genders (33.3%). In both academic years, most of the respondents (70.4% and75.5%, respectively) had one partner in the past year. Condom was regularly used by 62.0% and 65.7% of respondents, respectively.Oral hormonal contraception was used by signifi cantly more females in 2005/2006 as compared with 2015/2016 (30% vs. 15%;χ2=13.2; p=0.003). Coitus interruptus was regularly used by 10.7% and 13.9% of respondents, respectively. The method of fertile dayswas regularly used by 9.4% and 19.2% of respondents, respectively, with signifi cantly more females in 2015/2016 as compared with2005/2006 (27.8% vs. 13.3%, χ2=12.5; p=0.006).Conclusion: Study results showed insuffi cient use of oral hormonal contraceptives and condoms among students, and an increaseduse of traditional contraception methods, especially among females, indicating the need of continuous education of youth in thefi eld of reproductive health.

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