Tanja Tydén

Associations between pornography consumption and sexual practices among adolescents in Sweden

Pornography consumption and sexual behaviour were studied, with an aim to investigate any associations. Participants were 718 students from 47 high school classes, mean age 18 years, in a medium-sized Swedish city. More men (98%) than women (72%) had ever consumed pornography. More male high consumers than low consumers or women got sexually aroused by, fantasized about, or tried to perform acts seen in a pornographic film (P<0.001). Three-quarters of the sample had had sexual intercourse, of which 71% reported contraceptive use at first intercourse. Anal intercourse was reported by 16%, with infrequent condom use (39%). Intercourse with a friend (adjusted odds ratio (adj. OR) 2.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.27–4.12) was significantly associated with high consumption of pornography among men, while anal intercourse (adj. OR 1.99; 95% CI 0.95-4.16) and group sex (adj. OR 1.95; 95% CI 0.70-5.47) tended to be associated. A significant confounder was early age of sexual debut (adj. OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.18-1.88).

Sexual and reproductive health

Summary In many ways our sexual and reproductive health reflects our way of life and living conditions. In a long-term perspective, advances in welfare combined with a well-developed health and medical care system, have meant that by international standards it is now rare for mothers to die during delivery and infant mortality continues to decline to new record lows. Pregnancy and childbirth, however, continue to be a time in a woman’s life associated with many health problems, and absence from work due to illness is common. The age of parents at the birth of their first child is

Reasons for pregnancy termination, contraceptive habits and contraceptive failure among Swedish women requesting an early pregnancy termination

Background. More than 30 000 legal abortions are performed every year in Sweden despite sexual education in schools, widespread youth‐clinics and family planning services that are free of charge. The aim of this study was to investigate reasons for induced abortion, contraceptive habits and reasons for contraceptive failure among women presenting for induced abortion.

Does pornography influence young women’s sexual behavior?

Young women (n = 1,000), visiting a family planning clinic in Stockholm, Sweden, answered a questionnaire about their sexual behavior and if they had seen pornography. Four out of five had consumed pornography, and one-third of these believed that pornography had impacted their sexual behavior. As many as 47% had experienced anal intercourse, which was significantly more common among older women (51%) than among teenagers (31%). The majority valued anal intercourse as a negative experience. As the use of a condom was low (40%) when having anal intercourse, the consequences for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases should be considered.

Sex behavior among high school students in Sweden : improvement in contraceptive use over time.

PURPOSE To investigate sexual behavior and attitudes toward sexuality among first-year high school students in Sweden in 1999 and to compare the sexual behavior with that reported from similar studies in 1979 and 1989. METHODS In Spring 1999, a questionnaire with 47 questions mainly of multiple-choice nature was administered to a random sample of 20 classes in senior high school in two medium-sized cities in Sweden. The median age of the students was 16 years. Differences in sexual behavior and attitudes were evaluated with the Chi-square and Students t-test. RESULTS Almost half of the students (46%) had had intercourse, showing that the age of coitarche had not decreased during the past two decades. The median age at intercourse of those who had had intercourse was 15 years in both genders. More students in practical (vocational-technical) programs (60%) than in theoretical (college preparatory) ones (37%) had had sexual intercourse. More teenagers in theoretical (90%) than in practical programs (64%) had used contraceptives at their first intercourse, an increase from 65% in 1979 to 76% in 1999. One-fourth of the teenagers were under the influence of alcohol at the first intercourse, a decrease, compared with 1979. CONCLUSIONS Contraceptive use at coitarche has increased and alcohol use decreased over the 20-year-period. The tendency noted 10 years ago that students attending practical programs put themselves at more health risk than students in theoretical programs continues. This fact should be considered when planning for counseling and sex education.

Knowledge, use and attitudes towards emergency contraceptive pills among Swedish women presenting for induced abortion

Objective To investigate the knowledge, experiences and attitudes towards emergency contraceptive pills (ECP) among women presenting for induced abortion.

High HPV vaccine acceptance despite low awareness among Swedish upper secondary school students

Objective To investigate knowledge of human papillomavirus (HPV) and attitudes to HPV vaccination and condom use among Swedish first year upper secondary school students. Methods Classroom questionnaire filled in by 608 students from a strategic sample of seven upper secondary schools in Sweden. Results Only 13.5% (n = 82) of the students had heard about HPV and 6% (n = 35) were aware of HPV vaccination. As many as 84% (n = 508) would like to be vaccinated against HPV. The high cost of vaccination was the greatest obstacle (total group 37%, n = 227); among girls the second major hindrance was the fear of needles (19%, n = 65). Before considering an HPV vaccination 73% (n = 443) wanted more information and 36% (n = 220) would like to receive such information from the school nurse. The students considered it less likely that they would use a condom when having intercourse with a new partner if they were vaccinated than if they were not (p < 0.001). Conclusion Despite intensive marketing directed at potential vaccine consumers, knowledge of HPV and of HPV vaccines was very low among first year upper secondary school students. Their attitude towards vaccination was positive but most of them wanted more information before considering vaccination.

Sexual behaviour among young men in Sweden and the impact of pornography.

The purpose was to investigate the sexual behaviour among young men (n = 300), visiting a genitourinary clinic in Sweden, focusing on the impact of pornography. Almost all, 98% (n = 292) claimed to be heterosexual. The mean age at first intercourse was 16 years and on that occasion 64% (n = 187) used some kind of contraceptive, mainly condom. All, 99% (n = 296) had consumed pornography and 53% (n = 157) felt that pornography impacted their sexual behaviour; they got inspired. About half (n = 161) had had anal intercourse. Of these, 70% (n = 113) had had it more than once and 84% (n = 133) could imagine doing it again. Only 17% (n = 28) always used a condom in this situation. One out of four (n = 70) had had at least one sexually transmitted disease. The low use of condoms when heterosexual men have anal sex might have serious consequences for a spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Bringing emergency contraception over the counter: experiences of nonprescription users in France, Norway, Sweden and Portugal.

Emergency contraceptive pills are now available on a nonprescription basis in over 25 countries worldwide. In an effort to learn about womens experiences with this new means of emergency contraception (EC) service delivery, we conducted focus-group discussions with nonprescription EC users from France, Norway, Portugal and Sweden. Participants from these countries overwhelming supported pharmacy access to EC, explaining that pharmacy delivery facilitated rapid access to the method. Despite expressing mixed reviews of the counseling given by the providing pharmacists, participants reported that they knew how use the method safely and properly. Most indicated that the package insert was easy to understand and adequately answered the majority of their questions. Participants described the EC experience as a motivating factor that, in many cases, has led to more consistent use of regular contraceptive methods. These data are valuable to policy-makers and institutions interested in learning more about the safety and acceptability of nonprescription access to emergency contraceptive pills.

Knowledge of human papillomavirus and attitudes to vaccination among swedish high school students

The aim of the study was to investigate knowledge of and attitudes to sexually transmitted infection (STI) and STI prevention with special focus on human papillomavirus (HPV) and the new vaccine against HPV, among 16-year-old high school students in a Swedish context. A study-specific questionnaire was distributed to 572 first year high school students from five different high schools in a medium-sized town in Sweden. The students lacked knowledge of HPV and its association with cervical cancer. Similarly, their knowledge of the new vaccine was limited. Their attitude to condom use when having sex with a new partner was positive, but decreased if oral contraceptives were used and if they were vaccinated against an STI. The main source of information was the school, followed by youth clinics and the media. The results highlight the clinical importance for school nurses and personnel at youth clinics to inform adolescents about HPV and its association with cancer.