Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju 61452, Korea.
College of Nursing, Gachon University, Incheon 21936, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Oct 27;18(21):11295. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111295.
We explored gender differences in sexual behavior, and their relevance to mental health among high school students in South Korea. This study was based on data from the 14th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (2018). The subjects were 2460 high school students who reported sexual experiences. Student's -test, ANOVA, and Rao-Scott chi-squared test were performed to identify the significance of the differences. Boys had earlier sexual debuts (Rao-Scott χ = 53.55, < 0.001), a lower frequency of using contraceptives (Rao-Scott χ = 26.57, < 0.001), and lower rates of sex education in school (Rao-Scott χ = 11.20, = 0.004). With respect to mental health factors, there was a difference in suicidality according to sexual risk behaviors, with a stronger association found in boys. In girls, there was an association between pregnancy experiences and suicidal ideation (Rao-Scott χ = 9.90, = 0.003), plans (Rao-Scott χ = 17.25, < 0.001), and attempts (Rao-Scott χ = 23.11, < 0.001). Our findings suggest differences by gender and age group in the association between sexual behavior and mental health. It is necessary to devise a sex education strategy for adolescents considering gender and early versus late adolescent development period.
我们探讨了性行为中的性别差异，以及这些差异与韩国高中生心理健康的关系。本研究基于 2018 年第十四次韩国青少年风险行为网络调查的数据。研究对象为 2460 名有过性经历的高中生。采用学生 t 检验、方差分析和 Rao-Scott 卡方检验来确定差异的显著性。男孩首次性行为发生较早（Rao-Scott χ=53.55， < 0.001），使用避孕药的频率较低（Rao-Scott χ=26.57， < 0.001），学校性教育的比例较低（Rao-Scott χ=11.20， = 0.004）。在心理健康因素方面，根据性行为风险，自杀意念在男孩中与性行为的关联更强。在女孩中，怀孕经历与自杀意念（Rao-Scott χ=9.90， = 0.003）、自杀计划（Rao-Scott χ=17.25， < 0.001）和自杀企图（Rao-Scott χ=23.11， < 0.001）之间存在关联。我们的研究结果表明，性行为和心理健康之间的关联存在性别和年龄组差异。需要制定针对青少年的性教育策略，考虑到性别和青少年早期和晚期发展阶段。
