Objectives: 1 To describe psychosocial variables related to sexual activity and the prevalence of contextual factors e. Design: A cross-sectional serosurvey complemented with focus groups and in-depth interviews. These subjects were asked to fill out a self-administered questionnaire with detailed information on sexual experiences and psychosocial variables.
A subsample of subjects provided blood specimens, which were analyzed for antibodies to HIV-1, the hepatitis B virus and syphilis. The relationship between the main study variables and sociodemographic indicators was also assessed, and multivariate analysis was used to identify those variables associated with sexual health problems. A preliminary qualitative phase helped in the questionnaire design and in interpreting survey findings. Among the sexually active who gave a blood sample, 0.
Those who experienced an unplanned pregnancy or STD symptoms or, for the subsample, were seropositive for HIV or other STDs, were more likely to perceive social norms as restricting condom use to casual sex, to be older, to combine sex with alcohol or drugs and to report a history of sexual coercion or of having paid or been paid for sex. For females only, engaging in sex at a younger age was a risk marker, while engaging in any homosexual activity was protective.
Conclusions: Cultural norms that restrict condoms to casual sex may place many young people in Lima at risk of an unplanned pregnancy or STDs. Sexual behavior may be especially risky in a context of sexual coercion and paid sex, when sex is combined with drugs and alcohol, and when engaged in by younger females.
Sexual health education should work to change such cultural norms and these risky contexts. Abstract Objectives: 1 To describe psychosocial variables related to sexual activity and the prevalence of contextual factors e. Publication types Research Support, Non-U.
