What One Gets Is Not Always What One Wants—Young Adults’ Perception of Sexuality Education in Poland

Abstract

There is a discrepancy between the educational needs and the opportunities to obtain reliable knowledge about sexuality in adolescence. This study aimed to assess the conjunctive influence of family and school in shaping this knowledge. Methods: Data were collected retrospectively within a cross-sectional survey conducted in Poland in 2017 (18–26 yrs; N = 595). The respondents’ experiences in terms of the presence and quality of sexuality education (SE) at school and in conversations with parents about related issues were considered. Results: Of all the respondents, 31.1% had no sexuality education classes in school or rated them as useless, 41.5% never discussed sexuality-related topics with parents and both were true for 17.6%. Puberty and contraception were most frequently discussed with parents, while sexual pleasure and masturbation were discussed least frequently. The diversity of topics taken up with parents and the possibility of discussions with mothers turned out to be the most important factors for shaping adolescents’ knowledge. A relationship with the quality of sexuality education at school was additionally revealed for girls, while a relationship with talking to fathers was revealed for boys. Conclusions: Schools and families should work together to strengthen proper sexual development by meeting adolescents’ needs in the field of their knowledge on human sexuality.

Influence of Selected Sociodemographic and Cultural Factors on the Age of Sexual Initiation of Students from Polish Universities

“…The problems with sex education in Poland may be related to the fact that issues related to sexuality continue to be the subject of political and ideological contention, both in terms of the form of delivery and the selection of appropriate textbooks, as well as pressure to promote content consistent with religious teachings, conservatism and a heteronormative model of relationships, while doubling down on prejudice against representatives of other sexual orientations. The teaching implemented in Poland deviates from the standards stated by the WHO, which is a violation of the WHO’s Universal Declaration of Sexual Rights [ 13 ]. Awareness of the need to introduce sex education in schools in our country should be increased and access to knowledge in this area should be ensured for all, especially given that there is scientific evidence that such teaching helps to increase sexual health knowledge and strengthen positive beliefs about contraceptive use [ 14 ].…”

Patterns of University Students’ Risky Sexual Experiences and Their Characteristics

“…When analysing risky sexual behaviours, it is worth noting that the generation of young Poles, including students, has significant deficits in terms of sex education. Population studies show that 31% of the respondents (at the age of 18–26 years old) did not have sex education at school or found it useless, and 42% never spoke to their parents about sexuality [ 60 ]. The basic source of knowledge of the sexuality and sexual behaviour patterns of modern young adults are mainly peers, the Internet, especially Internet forums, portals, blogs, films and magazines, including erotic and pornographic ones [ 40 , 61 ] and series (e.g., the Netflix series ‘Sex Education’ [ 62 ]).…”

O potrzebie edukacji seksualnej dorosłych

“…Niska jakość i nieade kwatność edukacji seksualnej dostępnej w polskiej szkole, a także ograniczony jej wymiar w rodzinie nie gwarantują również, że młode osoby wejdą w dorosłość wyposażone w odpowiednią wiedzę nt. seksualności (Instytut Badań Edukacyjnych, 2015;Bieńko i Woźniak, 2017;Izdebski, 2020;Izdebski, DecPietrowska, Kozakiewicz i Mazur, 2022). Dlatego problematyka edukacji seksualnej osób dorosłych wymaga głębszej refleksji.…”