Religiosity, religious affiliation, and patterns of sexual activity and contraceptive use in France

Abstract

Objective To examine the association between religiosity and sexual and contraceptive behaviours in France. Methods Data were drawn from the 2005 Health Barometer survey, a random sample of 7,495 women and 5,634 men aged 15 to 44. We used logistic regression models to study the associations between religiosity and sexual and contraceptive behaviours, by gender and religious denomination. Results Three quarters of respondents (73%) reported no religious practice, 20% practised occasionally, and 7% regularly. Regular practice was associated with later sexual debut, regardless of religious denomination. Among participants less than 30 years old, religious respondents were less likely to have used a condom at first sexual intercourse (odds ratio [OR]=0.2 for women, OR=0.4 for men) or any form of contraception (OR=0.2 for women). At the time of the survey, sexually experienced adolescents who reported regular religious practice were less likely to use contraception (84.7% vs. 98.1%, p<0.001). Regular practice was associated with a 50% decrease in the odds of using very effective methods for Catholics, but had no effect among Muslims. Conclusion This study, conducted in the French secularised context, shows a complex relationship between religiosity and sexual behaviours, which varies by gender, religious affiliation and during the life course.

Contraceptive non-use and associated factors among university students in 22 countries.

“…These country variations seem similar to those in population survey-based observations among never married 15-19 year old women and 15-24 year old men, where modern contraceptive non-use in Nigeria was among women 69% and men 58%, in India (women 82% and men 82%), in the Philippines 96% among women, and in Colombia 41% among women. 2 The study found, in agreement with other studies 10,14,15,17,18 , that younger age, a higher degree of religiosity or intrinsic religiosity and religious affiliation (Hindu and Muslim) were associated with contraception non-use. According to WHO 13 , reasons for a global unmet need for contraception particularly include young people and cultural or religious opposition.…”

“…13 Among university students factors associated with contraceptive non-use for women, men or both can be summarized as follows: 1) socio-demographic factors (younger age, lower educational level 10,14,15 , being male 16 , higher degree of religiosity 17,18 , high price of contraceptives 14 ); 2) Sexual behaviour (early sexual debut 10,16,19 , not previously pregnant 20 , more than one sexual partner in the past 12 months 20 , internet use (sex) 21,22 ; Psychosocial factors or internal assets (low locus of control, low personal initiative and assertiveness 14 , lack of life satisfaction 23 , and psychological distress 24,25 ), and 3) other factors (fear of side effects of modern contraceptives 7 , lack of exposure to healthcare worker talking about contraception 12 ).…”

“…1 Data from population-based surveys 2 shows low rates of current contraceptive use, among sexually active, never-married women (15)(16)(17)(18)(19) 2 Among sexually active university students, the following proportions of lack or contraception non-use were found: in Botswana: Sometimes/never used contraception among male (20%) and female (26%) 3 ; in China 48.7%-84% had not taken contraceptive measures during the episode of first sexual intercourse 4,5 , in Lebanon: 76% of females had generally not used contraceptives (75.6%) 25% have ever used any contraceptive method 7 and 66% were currently not using contraceptives 8 , in South Africa 19% had not used contraceptives at last sexual encounter 9 , in Uganda 19% did not use contraception in their last sexual encounter 10 ; in Ukraine, 32% and 19% did not use contraceptives at their first and most recent sexual intercourse, respectively 11 and among women in the US, 23% reported not using contraception. 12 Globally, "Reasons for a global unmet need for contraception include: limited choice of methods; limited access to contraception, particularly among young people, poorer segments of populations, or unmarried people; fear or experience of side-effects; cultural or religious opposition; poor quality of available services; gender-based barriers.…”

The relationship between anxiety, depression and religious coping strategies and erectile dysfunction in Iranian patients with spinal cord injury

“…Less engagement in risky sexual behaviors among religious people compared with non-religious people may also explain the important implications of religiosity in coping with sexual dysfunctions. 31,32 Anxiety and depressive mood Apart from religious coping, we were also able to observe a significant association between anxiety and depressive mood and erectile function in men with SCI. It has been repeatedly shown that depressive mood and anxiety levels are high in patients with SCI.…”

Trends in Inequalities in the Use of Condom by Urban Teenagers in Spain

“…The proportion of private government-dependent schools that are religious schools is~60 %, 20 and religiousness has been associated with lower contraceptive use. 42 It is also possible that risky sexual behaviors are increasing among students with lower socioeconomic status because the nature of the source database did not allow us to distinguish between students attending private government-dependent schools and those attending private schools, which likely come from the most socioeconomically advantaged families. 21 Several studies have explored differences in sexual behavior between types of school and have found that pupils in public schools are less aware of contraceptive methods and are more likely to undertake risky sexual activities, 22,43 although these results are not consistent with ours.…”