The Dominican Republic has witnessed a significant increase of HIV/AIDS in recent years, particularly among young women. Prior research suggested that sex education could be an effective tool in combating risky sexual behaviors in adolescents; yet, most of this research has been conducted with Caucasian study populations, resulting in limited generalizability to Latino populations. The present study sought to address this gap by examining the effects of sex education on HIV/AIDS knowledge and condom use among young women in the Dominican Republic.
Methods: Data were analyzed from 1,608 female adolescent and young adult respondents to the ENJOVEN survey. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the relation between exposure to sex education and HIV/AIDS knowledge, current and consistent condom use.
Results: Respondents who reported receiving sex education were 1.72 times more likely to have high HIV/AIDS knowledge than respondents who reported not receiving sex education (CI: 1.36-2.18, p = .000). Respondents who reported receiving sex education were 2.52 times more likely to report currently using condoms than respondents who reported not receiving sex education (CI: 1.65-3.85, p = .000).
Conclusion: The results provide additional evidence that sex education programs are effective at increasing HIV/AIDS knowledge and condom use in young Dominican women.