[Sexual and contraceptive behavior of adolescents and young adults in Germany. Current results of the representative survey "Youth Sexuality"]. / Sexual- und Verhütungsverhalten von Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen in Deutschland. Aktuelle Ergebnisse der Repräsentativbefragung "Jugendsexualität".

BACKGROUND: Since 1980, the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) has regularly conducted the "Youth Sexuality" representative surveys. This continuous monitoring generates insights on the sexual and reproductive health of young people in Germany. The survey provides an important basis for the development of sexuality education and family planning measures. AIM: The current sexual and contraceptive behavior of adolescents and young adults will be summarized using initial descriptive results from the ninth iteration of the survey. METHODS: A total of N = 6032 adolescents and young adults participated in the survey. Data collection was conducted by computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) in 2019. RESULTS: A key finding of this iteration is that with regards to the age of the first sexual intercourse, the proportion of adolescents younger than 17 years has been declining for several years. For contraception, adolescents most frequently used condoms, and use of the pill has decreased. DISCUSSION: The data from the current iteration indicate safe and responsible contraceptive behavior among young people in Germany. Nevertheless, it is important to maintain the commitment in the field of sexual health promotion and expand prevention measures for specific target groups. This is the only way to ensure the sexual and reproductive health of the next generation.

[Experiences of sexualised violence in adolescence: results of a representative survey]. / Sexualisierte Gewalt in der Erfahrung Jugendlicher: Ergebnisse einer repräsentativen Befragung.

BACKGROUND: The Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) has generated data on the prevalence of sexualised violence in adolescence through its representative survey on youth sexuality since 1998. Since then, the survey has been refined and thus contributes to bridging existing gaps in prevalence research. AIM: Based on the ninth survey iteration of the youth sexuality study prevalence rates of direct (hands-on) and indirect (hands-off) sexualized violence in adolescence, data on offenders and disclosure of young people after victimization are depicted. METHODS: Computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) was conducted in a sample (N = 6032) of adolescents (14-17 years) and young adults (18-25 years). Items on the lifetime prevalence of indirect (hands-off) sexualised violence were included in the questionnaire for the recent wave of the representative survey. This article offers the first descriptive survey results. RESULTS: Adolescents and young adults experience sexualised violence predominantly within their own peer group. Additionally, peers play a significant role in responding to disclosure of sexualised violence. DISCUSSION: The findings support results of other population surveys regarding differences between experiences of sexualised violence in childhood and adolescence. The survey is aimed to contribute to continuous monitoring, providing regular datasets on sexualised violence in adolescence. The study aims to induce evidence-based, target-group-specific prevention measures.

[Sexual and contraceptive behaviour of young people throughout the decades : German Federal Centre for Health Education: Selected survey results on youth sexuality]. / Sexual- und Verhütungsverhalten Jugendlicher im Wandel : Ausgewählte Ergebnisse der Studien zur Jugendsexualität der Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung.

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.

Sexuality education for young people in Germany.Results of the 'Youth Sexuality' representative repeat survey.

The Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) has been conducting the 'Youth Sexuality' representative survey on a regular basis since 1980. This continuous monitoring generates insights into the sexual and reproductive health of young people in Germany and constitutes an important basis for evidence-based health communication. A total of N=6,032 young people between the ages of 14 and 25 participated in a combination of oral and written interviews (Computer Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI)). As primary sources of knowledge for, adolescents state that they obtain information through school lessons (69%), personal discussions (68%), and the Internet (59%). In addition to these sources, professional gynaecological counselling and sexuality education at home are also important sources of information. To what extent trusted contact persons are available in the family depends heavily on the adolescents' sociocultural backgrounds. Providing information and disseminating knowledge to young people in the field of sexual and reproductive health is organised intersectorally in Germany. In this way, it is possible to also reach those who do not have any contact persons at their disposal in their direct family. Maintaining and strengthening the current commitment in promoting sexual health is of key importance, as only this will ensure the next generation's sexual and reproductive health, and provide an evidence-based counterbalance to anecdotal information, especially in the digital domain.

Unintended pregnancy in the life-course perspective.

OBJECTIVE: In this contribution unintended pregnancies are studied as a multidimensional concept from a life-course perspective. Standardized data on the prevalence of unwanted pregnancies in different stages of women's life course are combined with a qualitative analysis of the subjective meaning of "unwanted" and of subjective explanations of getting pregnant unintentionally. METHODS: The study "frauen leben 3" on family planning in the life course of 20-44 year old women was conducted on behalf of the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) from 2011 until 2014 in four federal states in Germany. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect retrospective information on 4794 pregnancies (including induced abortions), and biographical in-depth interviews provide qualitative information on 103 unwanted pregnancies. The standardized data were analyzed with bivariate methods and multivariate logistic regression models. The qualitative procedure to construct typologies of subjective meanings consisted of contrasting cases according to the generative approach of Grounded Theory. MAIN RESULTS: In contrast to unwanted pregnancies, mistimed pregnancies are characterized to a greater extent by negligence in the use of contraceptives, by a positive reaction to the pregnancy and by a more general desire to have a child. Four different subjective meanings of "unwanted" are constructed in qualitative analysis. The logistic regressions show that the selected factors that increase the likelihood of an unwanted pregnancy vary according to age and stage in the life course. The quantitative analysis reveals furthermore that relationship with a partner had a significant effect in all stages of the life course. The qualitative interviews specify the age- and life course-related aspects of these effects.