Evaluation of knowledge level of couples referring to
marriage consultation centers about proper (safe, responsible, enjoyable) sexual
relation
Parsay sousan (Ph.D.), Nahidi shizar (M.D), Modarresi jabiz (M.D)
Department of public health & social medicine, faculty of
medicine, Shahid Beheshti university of medical sciences, Evin avenue, Tehran,
Iran
Objective: Marriage is the most basic, essential and
sacred form of human relationship, which in its correct definition consists of
dynamic physical and psychological communication between couples. A unique
aspect of marriage is safe, enjoyable and responsible sexual relation, and human
sexual behaviors have become tremendously complicated. Ever since the
international population and development conference (Beijing 1995) which made it
mandatory for, the world to provide the youth with the appropriate information
about sexual relation and the lack of proper knowledge about the issue may lead
to unwanted pregnancies, STD, anxiety, dissatisfaction and divorce. In this
regards the final priority seems to have reliable statistical evaluation of the
knowledge of target population about these matters. This study was designed to
equip us with the necessary information for further research and educational
program in Iran.
Design and methods: A cross sectional study was performed
to ascertain the knowledge level of the couples referring to marriage
consultation centers in Tehran about proper sexual relation. 150 couples were
selected randomly. The information was gathered by a questionnaire with 31
questions. Gender, age group, educational level and knowledge score and level
were the main variables under the study. All the information was considered
confidential. The knowledge level was measured by coding method and information
was analyzed by SPSS.
Results: The average knowledge score of male cases below
12 point was considered very poor and that of women’s were even lower. The
highest average level belonged to the couples whose educational level was higher
than high school diploma. Most of the participants obtain their knowledge from
unreliable sources (70.3% for women and 64.7% for men). The lowest knowledge
scores belonged to the cases younger than 25 years of age. Only 15% of women and
9% of men spend no time of thinking about sexual matters at all. The fear of
sexual relation was six times higher in women compared to men subjects and about
4% of cases considered sexual matters with aliens as sin.
Conclusion: In this study it has been proven that both
women and all subjects under 25 years of age were more at risk of being deprived
from enjoying a proper sexual relation. The knowledge of sexual issue for even
educated woman was less than predicted. So by focusing on female education and
informing them of the subject matter during high school and before marriage, the
quality of life could be improved. Both sexes gain most of their knowledge from
unreliable sources mainly because sharing such information with others seemed
religious taboo. But surprisingly 86% of participants stated that there was an
urgent need for gaining information from authorized health personnel. It was
also made evident that providing couple with basic pieces of information about
proper sexual relation, STD and more details about effective contraceptive
methods were critical necessities.