Gender, sexual experiences and sexual behavioural differences in Turkish university students

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This study was conducted to determine sexual experiences and gender differences in sexual behaviour in university students. In this cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted between 1<jats:sup>st</jats:sup> February and 12<jats:sup>th</jats:sup> November 2017. A total of 491 volunteer students were selected at a state university in the Mediterranean region of Turkey using a systematic sampling method. Questionnaires were distributed to the students in sealed envelopes and collected on completion. The data were collected using a socio-demographic form and a sexual experiences and sexual health behaviours form. A total of 414 students (78 males; 336 females) were included in this study. The prevalence of sexual intercourse among these was 4.3%, and total oral and anal sex experiences were 35% and 16.7%, respectively. A significantly higher number of female students of those who reported having sexual intercourse (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 9; 50.0%), oral sex (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 81; 55.9%) and anal sex (<jats:italic>n</jats:italic> = 60; 87.0%), also reported not telling anyone about his/her partner (77.2%), not talking about sex (82.4%) and not buying contraceptive products, even when necessary (78.3%). Hidden sexuality was seen to affect female students more often and this may lead to risky sexual behaviours, sexually transmitted diseases, an unhealthy sexual life with multiple partners and even unplanned, unwanted pregnancies.</jats:p>

An examination of different types of parental control on the well‐being of Turkish emerging adults

“…It appears that overt sexual messages from parents function as a separate mechanism to regulate the sexuality of Turkish emerging adults. Turkish parents generally hold conservative attitudes about premarital sex (Nazik et al, 2020) and reinforce the norm of sexual abstinence until marriage. Our results indicate that Turkish emerging adults may be acknowledging their parents' overt verbal messages about their sexuality independent from behavioral or psychological control domains.…”

“…Additionally, emerging adult women report high control of their sexuality in Turkey. Studies indicate that direct and indirect control of women's sexuality is especially high for those from conservative and religious families (Eşsizoğlu et al, 2011; Güngor, 2021; Nazik et al, 2020). In addition, religious women are more prone to internalize such norms about sexuality and limit their sexual debut (Nazik et al, 2020).…”

“…Studies indicate that direct and indirect control of women's sexuality is especially high for those from conservative and religious families (Eşsizoğlu et al, 2011; Güngor, 2021; Nazik et al, 2020). In addition, religious women are more prone to internalize such norms about sexuality and limit their sexual debut (Nazik et al, 2020). In general, young Turkish women who had engaged in premarital sex reported less perceived family support and more fear of social rejection (zyegin, 2009) compared with those who were virgins.…”

Genotype Distribution and Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus in Head and Neck Cancer Samples from Istanbul, Turkey

“…In a study investigating the frequency of HPV in tonsil tumor-free tissues in children and young adults, the prevalence was detected to be at about 6.3%, indicating that HPV can settle in the mouth at a very early age [39]. Considering that Turkey has a young population who, in general, practices oral sex [40], HPV vaccines known to reduce oral HPV prevalence may represent the most effective tool for the prevention of HPV-induced HNSCC. In Turkey, HPV vaccination is not included in the National immunization programme.…”

“…Anyplex™ II HPV28 kit was performed according to manufacturer's instructions (Seegene, Seoul, Korea), using 5 µL DNA in each of the two 20 µL reaction mixtures with primer sets A or B, respectively [41]. The Anyplex™ II HPV28 kit semi-quantitatively distinguishes 28 HPV genotypes (namely types 6,11,16,18,26,31,33,35,39,40,[42][43][44][45], 51-54, 56-59, 61, 66, 68-70, 73 and 82) in two reactions that can be resolved on the CFX96 real-time PCR device (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA) simultaneously, thus allowing the identification of the vast majority of clinically relevant HPV types. Cycling conditions encompassed an incubation period of 4 min at 50 • C (to activate the uracil DNA glycosylase in order to prevent contamination), denaturation for 15 min at 95 • C, followed by 50 cycles /30 s at 95 • C, 1 min at 60 • C and 30 s at 72 • C. The fluorescence levels were constantly measured as the temperature increased.…”