Attitudes and practices related to sexual health are often developed during the teenage years. This section describes Peel students’ attitudes and beliefs about this topic.

• High proportions of all students felt sexual intercourse was appropriate for committed relationships including marriage (69%) and long-term loving situations (62%). Only 9% of students felt sexual intercourse was appropriate after a single date.
• Males (31%) were significantly more likely than females (26%) to have ever had sex. Grade 9 students were least likely to have ever had sexual intercourse (14%) but most likely to have not used any birth control or protection during sex (32%).
• One in every four (26%) students in grades 9 to 12 had had sexual intercourse in the last 12 months. Close to two-thirds (62%) of sexually-active students were 15 years of age or younger when they first had sex.
• One in every four (25%) sexually-active students who reported they had sexual intercourse in the last 12 months had sex when they really did not want to. Forty per cent of sexually-active students were sometimes or always high or drunk when they had sex.
• Forty-two per cent of sexually-active students reported they had only had sex with one person in their lifetime. However, one-third (34%) of students reported they had three or more sexual partners in their lifetime. Females (48%) were significantly more likely than males (36%) to report they had had sexual intercourse with only one person in their lifetime while males (27%) were significantly more likely than females (19%) to report they had four or more sexual partners in their lifetime.

Chapter 6 - Sexual Health (PDF 89KB, 19 pages)

Table of Contents:

• Table of Contents (PDF 34KB, 4 pages)
• List of Figures and Tables (PDF 52KB, 17 pages)
• Executive Summary (PDF 57KB, 8 pages)
• Introduction (PDF 31KB, 2 pages)
• Student Health 2005 - Introduction
• Chapter 1 - Student Profile
• Chapter 2 - Eating Habits, Physical Activity and Body Weight
• Chapter 3 - Tobacco, Alcohol, Marijuana and Other Drugs
• Chapter 4 - Bullying and Safety
• Chapter 5 - Mental Health and Self Esteem
• Chapter 6 - Sexual Health
• Chapter 7 - Dental Health
• Chapter 8 - Injuries
• Chapter 9 - Sun Safety
• Data Sources, Methods, and Limitations (PDF 45KB, 4 pages)
• References (PDF 49KB, 8 pages)
• News Release