Sexual Behaviour in the City of Lisbon

Abstract

This study of sexual behaviour in the city of Lisbon is based on data obtained from 2 random samples, one of individuals aged 16–20 ( n = 400) and another of individuals over the age of 20 ( n = 400). Samples have been stratified by district, gender and age. Data were obtained by personal interview and by questionnaires completed confidentially by the interviewees. The data include the age of first sexual intercourse, the number of sexual partners, the prevalence of casual relations and the type of sexual practices according to sex and age group. Results show that despite the high risk of exposure to HIV in a significant percentage of the population, AIDS is seen as a personal threat by only 20% of the population. Six per cent of the adults (aged 21 and over) and 12% of the young people (16–20) replied that they had not yet considered the problem; 73.5% of the adults and 67.4% of the young people stated that they did not feel threatened by the disease. Data suggest that the differences between men and women have decreased. Among the sexually active population, only 12% of individuals under 21 and 8% of the adults use condoms regularly. The awareness of infidelity among couples is much lower than in reality. A significant discrepancy was found between the ‘awareness' and ‘reported reality’ for men and women who carry on casual extramarital relations: 14.9% of the women were convinced that their husbands or companions are unfaithful; 27.7% of the men reported they had been unfaithful in the years preceding the study; 3.7% of the men believed their wives had been unfaithful, whereas 8.9% of the women admitted to having been unfaithful over the same period. Data on sexual initiation reveal that contrary to young people (3.5%), 25.0% of the men over 20 begin their sexual life by resorting to prostitutes. At least one of the following behaviours can be attributed to two-thirds of the adults (21 and over) in the year preceding the study; extramarital relations; 2 or more sexual partners; did not use condoms; sexual relations with prosititutes, sexual relations with people whose sexual past they did not know. In conclusion, our study illustrates that the pattern of sexual behaviour in this population is associated to a significant risk of exposure to HIV and that a marked unawareness of such risk prevails. The differences in sexual behaviour patterns between men and women and between young and older people are important to formulate appropriate educational programmes.