The Impact of a Community-Based Comprehensive Sex Education Program on Chinese Adolescents' Sex-Related Knowledge and Attitudes

Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate a community-based comprehensive sex education program among unmarried youth in China. The impact of the intervention on sexual knowledge, attitudes, and sexual initiation were assessed, using a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental research design. The program used six methods for providing sex-related knowledge and reproductive health services to youth aged 15-24 over a period of 20 months. A total of 1,220 youth participated in the program (intervention group) while 1,007 youth did not receive the intervention (control group). We found that while the intervention did not directly deter youth from initiating sexual activity, it significantly increased youth's sex-related knowledge. The intervention also had a significant effect on males' attitudes about sex. It made the attitudes of males more conservative. The results suggest that comprehensive sex education programs for young people can be effective in imparting important information regarding sexual health and HIV/AIDS prevention, and also suspending the age-normative trend toward more favorable sexual attitudes, especially among young men.