Attitudes of Bulgarian women toward various forms of specific sexual behaviour

Personal attitudes determine the individual sexual behaviour and safe sexual practice. The attitudes of Bulgarian women toward some forms of sexual behaviour leading to high risk of unwanted pregnancy and HIV-transmission are poorly investigated.

The aim of the study is to investigate the attitudes of Bulgarian women toward premarital intercourse, oral-genital sex, heterosexual anal intercourse and homosexual behaviour, as well as the factors influencing these attitudes.

The sample included 243 randomly selected women with an age range of 14 to 40 years with at least one pregnancy by the moment of the study. Each subject completed a self-reported questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics and items concerning different aspects of sexual behaviour.

Most of the women (70.3%) consider premarital sexual intercourse as totally natural, while other 20.1%--that it is acceptable only if the couple is engaged. The oral-genital sex is accepted by 69.2%. Only 8.2% of the respondents consider that heterosexual anal intercourse is normal, while homosexual behaviour is regarded as normal by 8.1% of the interviewed women. The higher the educational level of the respondents, the more liberal views they report about premarital sexual intercourse (P < 0.001) and oral-genital contact (P < 0.01). Women grown up in urban areas are more likely to accept premarital coitus and oral-genital sex as normal--(P < 0.05, P < 0.05) as well as those who have received information about contraception from friends/peers (P < 0.05, P < 0.05).

Most of Bulgarian women have liberal attitudes toward premarital intercourse and oral sex and these behaviours could be regarded as components of their usual sexual practice. These results may provide an useful basis for further studies of the sexual attitudes and behaviour, as well as for designing optimal educational programs.