Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Adolescents in the child welfare system often face multiple maladaptive experiences that predispose them to worse sexual health outcomes.
This study aims to 1 describe the sexual health of adolescents in Spanish residential care by exploring their sexual knowledge, attitudes toward sexuality, and sexual behaviors and 2 to find out whether there are certain characteristics that make a subgroup particularly vulnerable to engaging in risky sexual behaviors.
A total of adolescents recruited from 47 Spanish residential care facilities Descriptive analyses and tests to prove gender and age differences were conducted. Their knowledge of sexuality was lower than observed in the general adolescent population, their attitudes more negative, and their tendency to engage in risky sexual behaviors higher. Girls made very infrequent use of condoms, while boys had more sexist attitudes and made habitual use of withdrawal.
The low level of knowledge, the early initiation of sexual exchange activities, and the scarce use of protection methods, together with sexist attitudes, place this group in a situation of great vulnerability, increasing the risk of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and even teen dating violence.
Keywords: sexual health, sexual knowledge, attitudes toward sexuality, sexual behaviors, sexism, condom use, adolescents, child welfare system, residential care, Spain. Individual, family, and social experiences have a major impact on all areas of the individual and their sexual health outcomes [ 1 ]. Adolescents in the child welfare system who have had to be separated from their family and immediate environment to ensure their physical and emotional well-being are more likely to report histories of trauma or sexual abuse, living in poverty, having inconsistent, harsh, or unavailable parenting, and coming from families who experience multiple stressors [ 2 , 3 , 4 ].
