Where do youth aged 15 to 17 get their sexual health information?
Description: Where do youth aged 15 to 17 get their sexual health information?
Most youth (85%) said there was an adult they could talk to for help or advice on puberty, sexual development or sexual health.
More than half of youth said that school (56%) or a parent or caregiver (51%) was a typical source of sexual health information.
Compared with males, a higher proportion of females typically got their sexual health information from parents or caregivers, friends, health care professionals, and books or pamphlets. School was a more common source for males.
Source | Males | Females |
---|---|---|
School | 59%Note * | 53% |
Parent or caregiver | 47%Note * | 56% |
Internet | 45% | 47% |
Friends | 32%Note * | 41% |
Health care professional | 17%Note * | 25% |
Books or pamphlets | 6%Note * | 8% |
Nowhere | 5%Note * | 2% |
|
1 in 5 (18%) youth are sexually and gender diverse.Note 1 Compared with cisgender youth who are exclusively attracted to a different gender (87%), a lower proportion of sexually and gender diverse youth (82%) said they had an adult to talk to for sexual health information.
A higher proportion of sexually and gender diverse youth reported the Internet, health care professionals, and books or pamphlets as typical sources of sexual health information. Only 2% reported not consulting any sources.
Source | Sexually and gender diverse | Cisgender attracted exclusively to a different gender |
---|---|---|
School | 54% | 56% |
Parents or caregivers | 49% | 53% |
Internet | 58%Note * | 44% |
Friends | 40% | 36% |
Health care professional | 26%Note * | 20% |
Books or pamphlets | 10%Note * | 6% |
Nowhere | 2% | 3% |
|
Sources: Statistics Canada, Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, 2019; Rotermann, M. and A. McKay, 2024, “Where do 15- to -17-year-olds in Canada get their sexual health information?” Health Reports, 35 (1), https://doi.org/10.25318/82-003-x202400100001-eng.
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