Sexual Health of Dutch Medical Students: Nothing to Worry about

Little is known about the sexual lives and development of medical students because of relatively small sample sizes and, in particular, low response rates in research. Enhancing medical students' awareness and understanding of sexual behavior is imperative, as gaps in knowledge might impede eff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of sexual medicine 2011-09, Vol.8 (9), p.2450-2460
Main Authors: Fickweiler, Freek, Keers, Joost C., Weijmar Schultz, Willibrord C.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Factors
Contraception Behavior - statistics & numerical data
Education
Female
Humans
Male
Medical School
Medical Student Understanding of Human Sexual Behavior
Medical Students
Netherlands
Sex Factors
Sexual Behavior - psychology
Sexual Behavior - statistics & numerical data
Sexual Development
Sexual Practices
Students, Medical - psychology
Students, Medical - statistics & numerical data
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:Little is known about the sexual lives and development of medical students because of relatively small sample sizes and, in particular, low response rates in research. Enhancing medical students' awareness and understanding of sexual behavior is imperative, as gaps in knowledge might impede effective sexual health consultations in their later professional practice. The aim of this study was to provide insight into the sexual lives and development of medical students. The main outcome measures of this study are demographic, contextual, and sexual data based on validated surveys. Preclinical medical students aged under 26 years were approached during scheduled classes and by e‐mail to complete a web‐based questionnaire. Our results were compared with international and Dutch normative data. Ordinal regression analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis were used to assess relationships between variables. A total of 1,598 questionnaires were returned (response rate 52%: 1,198 by women, 400 by men). There were 719 first‐year students (mean age 19.17 years) and 879 third‐year students (mean age 21.5 years). Gender distribution differences were seen in all the cohorts and were corrected for. Compared with international and Dutch (88%) normative data, our first‐ (62.7%; P 
ISSN:1743-6095
1743-6109
DOI:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2011.02344.x