Sources of Sexual and Reproductive Health Information for Youth Ages 15 – 25 Years

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis:, Youth are disproportionately at risk for STDs and unintended pregnancies. Information and education on these topics can help reduce their risk, particularly if delivered from trusted sources.  We sought to determine which sources youth receive and turn to for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information and their perceived quality of those sources.  

Methods:, Youth ages 15 – 25 years (n=4017) were sampled from a representative, probability-based, online panel and asked about 13 potential sources of information on 11 SRH topics. For each source, we assessed the perceived quality of information, rated on comfort, trust, accuracy, confidentiality, accessibility and judgment.  We further derived respondent clusters for two topics: (1) whether/when to have sex and (2) how to prevent HIV/STD during sex, using two-step cluster analysis for categorical data.   We compared clusters by age, gender, STD testing history, and perceived concern about STD “for people my age.”   

Results:,The most frequently cited SRH sources were parents and school-based classes (most frequently cited for 5 topics each: range = 45%-75%), except regarding what to expect in sexual relationships (friends: 57%).  Doctors were often cited as sources for biomedical information (e.g., 55% for pregnancy prevention). The least frequently cited source was social media sites (4%-10%).   Doctors and parents ranked highest for accuracy and trustworthiness.  Social media sites and television ranked lowest.  Friends (38%) and the internet (46%) were reported as the most approachable sources.  When asked about sources on whether and when to have sex, cluster analysis yielded two groups defined by internet use.  No one in the first cluster used the internet as an information source (n = 2365, M = 20.17 years, 62.1% female, 66.2% never tested for STD, 51.2% believed STDs were a major concern), but approximately 2/3 of the second cluster did (n= 1652, M = 20.89 years, 66.8% female, 56.8% never tested, 66.8% believed STD  a major concern).  We also found two clusters for how to prevent HIV/STD during sex.  The primary variables associated with the cluster differences were whether respondents used friends or the internet as sources.  The first cluster (n = 2121, M = 20.32 years, 63.8% female, 50.7% never tested for STD, 64.8% believed STDs were a major concern) reported using few sources other than school.  The second cluster (n= 1896, M = 20.64 years, 64.3% female, 65.3% never tested for STD, 59.5% believed STDs were a major concern) relied on a variety of sources.    

Conclusions:, SRH information sources for youth vary by topic.  Parents are a main source of information and considered accurate and trustworthy, but ranked lower in terms of access or ease in approaching. The internet was ranked low as trustworthy or accurate although high for comfort and ease of access.   Social media sites ranked low for accuracy and even ease of access.    

Implications for research and/or practice: SRH professionals should consider reaching youth through trusted intermediaries.  Use of social media sites should be evaluated before implementation to determine if those venues are effective at reaching youth.