Sexual and contraceptive behaviour of young people throughout the decades : German Federal Centre for Health Education: Selected survey results on youth sexuality

The study Youth Sexuality 2015 by the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) makes clear the changes in the sexual and contraceptive behaviour of teenagers and young adults over the last 35 years. Among young Germans, we can see that there is now more gender similarity both with regard to the age at which intercourse first takes place, and in contraceptive behaviour. The proportion of those who take no contraceptive precautions when they have intercourse for the first time is now 6% among male German teenagers and 8% among female ones, a lower figure than ever previously recorded. Communication about contraception, both at home and between partners, is making a substantial contribution to responsible contraceptive behaviour on the part of teenagers and young adults. Alongside education about sexuality in the family and at school, there are also structural influences on the positive developments in Germany. And yet there are still target groups that are inadequately reached. Many migrants are less well informed about bodily processes, their contraceptive practice is not so good, and their cultural/religious background also tends to mean that they are excluded from access to information. Education and social deprivation continue to be important factors in differences in sexual and contraceptive behaviour. In this area, pro-active efforts are necessary.