Sexual initiation of youths in selected European countries compared with their sexual and contraceptive knowledge.

The problem of educating youths entering adult life is as old as the history of mankind. The data shown in the introduction indicate that the methods of education depend on culture, religion, climatic zone, and a whole chain of events characteristic for the place where the young man grows up. Research data, however, show that adolescents of the former Eastern Bloc use contraceptives significantly less often and have a more traditional approach to the relationships between a man and a woman. They are, however, more likely to engage in random sexual contacts and accompanied dangerous sexual behaviours. Polish youths have a more liberal approach to the norms concerning sexual activity. The age of sexual initiation lowers gradually, but not as radically as over the western border. These changes occur at a slower rate than in other European countries. Sexual education, which is supposed to prepare the young man, responsible and fully aware of his actions, for adult life, also develops at a slower rate.