000161680 001__ 161680 000161680 005__ 20251017144553.0 000161680 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1080/19317611.2025.2511898 000161680 0248_ $$2sideral$$a144344 000161680 037__ $$aART-2025-144344 000161680 041__ $$aeng 000161680 100__ $$aGarcía-Barba, Marta$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza 000161680 245__ $$aToo little too late: perceptions of sexual health education in Spain 000161680 260__ $$c2025 000161680 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted 000161680 5203_ $$aIntroduction Despite the importance of school-based sexual health education (SHE) for enhancing sexual health outcomes, little is known about the SHE youth receive in Spain. Objective The goal of this research was to shed light on the experience of SHE of Spanish adults. Method Participants were 524 Spaniards (73% women, 27% men) between 18 to 70 years of age (M = 35.29, SD = 11.68) who completed an on-line survey. This survey collected information on whether and during which courses they had received SHE in high school. In addition, participants indicated the extent to which each of 10 important sexual health topics had been covered in their school-based SHE. Results On average, participants indicated that these 10 important SHE topics were covered between not at all and poorly. Biological topics were most likely to be covered at least to a small extent. Participants who received SHE on average received it in two different grades, most often around 14–16 years old. These participants, on average, rated the quality of the SHE as poor. There were no differences in perceptions of the extent or quality of SHE based on age-group or sexual orientation. However, women reported receiving significantly less SHE than did men; there were no gender differences in perceptions of the quality of SHE. Participants who had received SHE in more grades reported more extensive and higher quality SHE. Conclusions Results reflect that SHE in high schools in Spain is still very limited, which could be related to poorer sexual health. To improve sexual health, it would be necessary to enhance the SHE provided in Spanish schools. 000161680 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess$$aAll rights reserved$$uhttp://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/ 000161680 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion 000161680 700__ $$aElipe-Miravet, Marcel 000161680 700__ $$aByers, E. Sandra 000161680 700__ $$aBrassard, Audrey 000161680 7102_ $$14009$$2680$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Psicología y Sociología$$cÁrea Person.Eval.Trat.Psicoló. 000161680 773__ $$g(2025), [32 pp.]$$pInt. j. sex. health$$tINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SEXUAL HEALTH$$x1931-7611 000161680 8564_ $$s754148$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/161680/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yPostprint$$zinfo:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2026-06-04 000161680 8564_ $$s1499084$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/161680/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yPostprint$$zinfo:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2026-06-04 000161680 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:161680$$particulos$$pdriver 000161680 951__ $$a2025-10-17-14:12:21 000161680 980__ $$aARTICLE