[Assessment of knowledge on conrraceptives and contraceptive method among high school students]

Undertaking sexual intercourse by maturing youth has become a common phenomenon. The research shows that 27% of 17-18-year-olds and 42% of teenagers at the age of 14 and younger did not use any method of contraception during the sexual initiation. This is a very alarming phenomenon, and therefore, the author of the thesis attempted to assess the level of knowledge of high school students in the municipality of Wolsztyn on the available methods of contraception, contraceptives and their effectiveness. The study used a method of diagnostic survey. The research tool was a questionnaire containing 33 questions. Surveys were filled by 290 students (including 159 women and 131 men) of secondary schools in the municipality of Wolsztyn. The average age of the participants was 16.9 ± 1.0 years. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. The respondents' knowledge on reproductive physiology was at the average level. 63.8% of the students know what the sexual cycle consists of, 72.8% were familiar with the concept of ovulation, but only 11% have information on how long the egg cell lives. The best known contraceptive is a condom. Young people consider hormonal and mechanical methods as the most effective contraceptives. According to the respondents natural methods are characterized by the minimum efficiency. The respondents mainly derived their knowledge from the Internet and from colleagues, only every third person has talked to their parents or the gynecologist. The knowledge of students about the methods and contraceptives is average; they received an average of 22.6 points out of 52 possible.