Sexually active young adults are at an increased risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. Sexual behaviours such as inconsistent condom use, multiple partners and casual sex are known risk factors for negative sexual health outcomes. Sexually active higher education students are classified as…

This paper investigates the nature of the relationship between satisfaction with high school sexual health education and the pursuit of a post-secondary human sexuality course. In an initial study, first-year university students who received high school sexual health education in Ontario completed a questionnaire which assessed their satisfaction…

How well do young people understand their developing sexuality and what this means? This paper reports on findings from the Our Lives: Culture, Context and Risk project, which investigated sexual behaviour and decision-making in the context of the everyday life experience and aspirations of Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people (16-25 years)…

Peer sexuality educators' accounts of their work reveal two approaches to empathy with their students: affinity and alliance. "Affinity-based empathy" rests on the idea that the more commonalities sexuality educators and students share (or perceive they share), the more they will be able to empathise with one another, while…

There have been few assessments of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education programmes in sub-Saharan Africa from the students' and educators' perspective. This study examined students' opinions on an SRH programme in northern Ghana and explored the facilitators and barriers for educators regarding the implementation of the…

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that influence undergraduate college student use of emergency contraception (EC) and their level of knowledge about the product, in order to assist in the development of intervention programmes to increase its use, which could lead to lower rates of unintended pregnancies in this population. A…

Many US college students are reported to engage in risky sexual behaviour. Smartphone applications are a popular way to provide users with information in real time. We explored the potential for mobile technology to be used in promoting the sexual health of college students. Using findings from an online survey among a random sample of 5000…

This paper reports on findings derived as part of a two-year project funded by the European Union's Daphne III scheme, involving collaboration between seven partner organisations across six European countries. The project involved an evaluation, using questionnaires and focus groups, of domestic abuse prevention education programmes delivered…

In countries such as the UK, schools have a responsibility to prevent all forms of bullying, including those related to sexual orientation. However, relatively little is known about how schools go about this work successfully. This study aimed to identify how three secondary schools in south London, England, were addressing homophobia. Three…

In May 2007, Beijing Normal University launched a programme of school-based sexuality education for migrant children in Xingzhi Primary School in Beijing. Over the past seven years, the project team has developed a school-based sexuality education curriculum using the "International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education" published by…

Most interventions designed to prevent HIV/STI/pregnancy risk behaviours in young people have multiple components based on psychosocial theories (e.g. social cognitive theory) dictating sets of mediating variables to influence to achieve desired changes in behaviours. Mediation analysis is a method for investigating the extent to which a variable…

This paper presents findings from focus group interviews conducted in Swedish government group homes for young people with a history of psychosocial problems, substance misuse and criminal behaviour. Participants were asked to reflect on a newly developed sex education curriculum located within a harm-reduction paradigm prior to its…

Research with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning (LGBTQ) and genderqueer (GQ) students has highlighted the links between school-based marginalisation and decreased school outcomes. This paper applies stage-environment fit theory to an investigation of school 'gender climate', the official and unofficial policing of…

This paper offers an examination of gay-straight alliance (GSA) members' engagement with sex education, sexual health, and prejudice and discrimination in Canadian public high schools. It explores how five students' (four straight and one gay-identifying) participation in GSAs served as a springboard for learning about and challenging…

Research on the effects of college sexuality education has been largely quantitative in nature and has focused on changes in individual attitudes, behaviours and knowledge. This study sought to explore, qualitatively, the influences of enrolment in a human sexuality course on relationships. Eight couples from an undergraduate human sexuality…