Sexual behavior and contraception among young Polish women

Objective. To analyze sexual behavior and the use of contraception among young women in Poland. Design. Cross-sectional study. Population. 1,478 young women in higher (78.9%) and secondary (21.1%) education. Setting. Gdansk region in Poland. Methods. The data were gathered between September and December 2008 by the use of a questionnaire prepared for the purpose of this study, completed anonymously and in person by the young women. Results. Sexual activity had been initiated by 67.2% of the women studied at a mean age of 18.7 years (+/- 1.97). Assessment was made of changes in their contraceptive practice between the time of sexual initiation and later sexual activity. Since their first experience of intercourse 67.0% did not change their contraceptive methods. As many as 40.1% continued using either low effective methods or no contraception. Early sexual initiation was linked to a significantly lower likelihood of highly effective contraception, more frequent unprotected sexual intercourse and more sexual partners (p < 0.05). Over half of women assigned to a 'highrisk' group with regard to the chance of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection, declared that their behavior did not carry any risk, similar (p > 0.05) to those who did not have a history of hazardous behavior. Conclusion. Sexual behavior differentiates Polish women from the women in Western Europe. Despite the welcome tendency toward choosing reliable contraceptives, use of appropriate contraception is still insufficient.