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.