Sexual and Reproductive Behaviors among Undergraduate University Students in Mashhad, a City in Northeast of Iran

Background: the incidence of sexual transmitted infections (stis) and hiv/aids is globally higher in young people. this study evaluated the prevalence of sexual reproductive behaviors among undergraduate students of mashhad, iran. methods: the study was conducted on 605 students in twelve non-medical faculties of a great university of mashhad. a self-administered questionnaire was completed on demographic information, sexual contact in the lifetime and during the last three months, and age of first sex. kaplan-meier statistic was used to calculate the mean age of initiation of sex. a p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. results: after exclusion of individuals over 25 years of age, among 590 students with a mean age of 20.8±1.5 years included in the analysis, 71.4% were female and 85.3% were single. prevalence of at least one sexual contact in life was 15.1% and 35.3% of single sexually experienced students reported to have sex in the last three months. the lifetime prevalence of sexual relationship in males was significantly higher than females (32.9% vs. 7.6%, p<0.001). the mean age of first sexual experience was 23.7 years with a significant difference between both sexes (p<0.001). in single sexually experienced students, the mean age at first sex was 17.6±3.3 years, 24% started sexual activity at <15 years, 34.3% had at least 3 partners and only 40.6% stated using condom in their last sex. conclusion: although very small proportion of females reported premarital sex, a significant minority of male students experienced sexual and risky behaviors. therefore, the use of educational programs on related issues to reduce the risk of stis/ hiv among youth including university students seems to be a necessity.