Perceptions of Sources of Sex Education and Targets of Sex Communication: Sociodemographic and Cohort Effects (Report‪)‬

A majority of adolescents initiate sexual activity by the time they reach age 18 (for a review, see Willetts, Sprecher, & Beck, 2004). Because teens generally are not consistent users of contraception, however, negative outcomes can result from teenage sex, including unintended pregnancies, HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs; e.g., Upchurch & Kusunoki, 2006). These health risks have contributed to adolescent sexuality moving from being a "private, family matter" to being considered a "public health issue" (Advocates for Youth, 2006). In a search for factors that can contribute to delayed onset of sexual activities as well as more responsible sexual behavior when adolescent sex does occur, health care practitioners, researchers, and educators have focused on the importance of sex education and communication, within both the formal school system and the family (Carroll et al., 1999; Feetham, 1997). The major purpose of this research was to analyze data that have been collected within one university setting over almost two decades in order to examine cohort changes and other influences on university students' perceptions of the sources of their sex education and the degree to which they communicate about sex with various others. A Conceptual Background