Where do youth aged 15 to 17 get their sexual health information?

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Release date: February 15, 2024
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Infographic: 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.


Table 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 1. The information is grouped by Source (appearing as row headers), Males and Females (appearing as column headers).
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%
Note *

significantly different from females at p < 0.05

Return to note * referrer

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.


Table 2
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 2. The information is grouped by Source (appearing as row headers), Sexually and gender diverse and Cisgender attracted exclusively to a different gender (appearing as column headers).
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%
Note *

significantly different at p < 0.05

Return to note * referrer

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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