A group of university male students' approach towards unwanted pregnancy

D Aslan¹, A Akin¹, G Saka²

¹Hacettepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Ankara, Turkey, and ²Dicle University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Diyarbakir, Turkey

Objective In this study it was aimed to determine the first grade male students' approach towards unwanted pregrancy.

Design and methods Two universities in Turkey (Hacettepe and Dicle) were included in the study. The aim of conducting the research in two different provinces was to determine whether lifestyle, socio-economic, and cultural structure of these two provinces has different influences on thoughts and perceptions of adolescents related to sexual and reproductive health issues. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was used in the research. The total study population (males and females) for quantitative research was 2179 in Hacettepe University and 2163 in Diyarbakir Dicle University. The response rates were for the total study was 82.1% (Hacettepe) and 86.8% (Dicle). Qualitative part was conducted to form the questionnaire of the study.

Results There were 718 males at Hacettepe University and 1185 at Dicle University. The majority of the males at Hacettepe University (44.7%) stated that "induced abortion should be conducted" if unwanted pregnacy takes place. The second frequent answer for this question was "pregnancy should be continued in any condition (24.9%)". Partners should get married (21.9%). The first two answers were different in Dicle University. The most frequent answer for this statement was "marriage(37.6%)". Induced abortion was secondly stated (20.9%). The prevalence of experiencing unwanted pregnancy in a previous sexual relationship was 7.7% in Hacettepe University and it was 7.5% in Dicle University.

Conclusion There were differences between universities with regard to "unwanted pregnancy". Cultural factors might have influenced students' perceptions and behaviors. Although there were differences, the male students' perspectives in both universities about unwanted pregnancy need to be improved.