Do adolescents understand what physicians say about sexuality and health?

The high rates of adolescent sexual activity, often with adverse medical and social outcomes among minority females, prompted us to survey 160 girls between the ages of 13 and 18 concerning their knowledge of reproductive health terms, anatomy, and body functions. All were patients in a clinic in an inner-city hospital. We hypothesized that adolescents who were older, sexually active, and/or had received formal sex education would be better informed. We used a two-part, self-administered questionnaire. The first part focused on definitions of nine common medical and reproductive health terms; the second focused on definitions of unlabeled anatomic drawings of male and female genitourinary systems. The subjects' responses revealed their lack of information as well as a great deal of misinformation. No statistical differences in knowledge were found related to age, sexual activity status, or formal sex education. Many patients knew only nontechnical and slang terms and did not understand medical terms used by physicians in the clinic. Clinicians should not assume similar patients (minority and poor) know or understand their terminology and should use simple and, if necessary, explicit vocabulary.