Sexual attitudes and behaviors of school students in India - grades 6-12

Journal of Sex Research, Wntr, 1997 by Minakshi Tikoo

How do knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors interact and influence a person? Because each individual and each situation is unique, behavior is often difficult to predict. Population and cultural diversity in India makes it difficult for any one program to be universally applicable, unlike the situation in countries with small, homogeneous populations.

AIDS and Sexuality Knowledge in India

The need for sexuality education in schools was well documented at the five-day Asian Sexology Conference held in December 1994 in New Delhi, with emphasis on reproductive health education issues throughout India and Asia. A draft proposal for a National Sexual Health Program was submitted to the Ministry of Health. The results of the few existing studies on AIDS knowledge and the current spread of HIV highlight the need for understanding behavior, attitudes, and knowledge of Indians regarding human sexuality and AIDS before comprehensive national planning can start.

A survey (Sex Education Counseling Research Training and Therapy Department, 1988) of 3,850 unmarried urban young men and women (15- to 29-year-olds) revealed no significant differences across regions in the attitudes of the young people regarding marriage and Sex. Liberal attitudes toward Sexual behavior were found among both young men and women who were looking for equality in marriage. Most desired to stay in a "joint or extended family." and "arranged marriages (parents help in the selection of the significant others)," with some modifications, were still preferred by 60% of the sample. However, they also expressed the need to break away from tradition and marry out of their caste or religion. These findings indicate that there may be much ambiguity between the attitudes they hold and the behavior that they actually select.

Two thirds (1,365) of the sample surveyed by Pathak (1994) indicated that they would settle for an arranged marriage while having casual premarital affairs on the side. AIDS and other STDs do not seem to be a concern for this generation. As a result of being exposed to sexual messages from television and cinema, adolescents in India are increasingly experimenting with sexual behaviors.

Porter (1993) surveyed 153 English-speaking adults in Calcutta regarding their knowledge and attitudes about AIDS. The group was select in the sense that 60% had attended college, and 87% of the men and 99% of the women had heard about AIDS. Misconceptions existed, and both men and women lacked specific knowledge about AIDS. Mere awareness of the disease is not a precursor to an understanding about modes of transmission and symptoms of the disease. Even though 93% of the sample was aware of AIDS, they were ignorant about its symptoms, and prejudices against people with AIDS were omnipresent

Jain et al. (1994) reported that 58% of Indian patients attending a general outpatient clinic, 77% of patients attending an STD clinic, and 96% of commercial sex workers lacked knowledge about HIV/AIDS. They also reported that misinformation was widespread and was not limited to uneducated individuals. Although educated individuals had more accurate knowledge, their attitude was that AIDS was a foreign problem and would not affect Indians.