SUMMARY

Background: Among teenagers, the prevalence of sexual intercourse (SI) varies from one country to another, and within the same country- from region to region. Information regarding SI in teenagers is unknown for a representative portion of students in Santa Marta, Colombia. Objective: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with SI in middle- and high-school students from public and private schools from urban and rural zones. Method: A statistical sample provided by an anonymous survey of a group of students. Logistic regression was used to control confounders associated with students having had sexual intercourse in his/her lifetime. Results: A total of 3575 students, all grades and socioeconomic status, answered the survey. The mean age was 13.6 (SD=1.9), mean years of schooling was 8.2 years (SD=1.6), and 57 % were girls. A group of 804 (22.5%) students affirmed to having had SI. Having had SI was associated with being male (OR=8.5), alcohol drinking (OR=4.3), cannabis use (OR=4.2), cigarette smoking (OR=2.8), being older (OR=1.7), attending private school (OR=1.3), and being in a higher grade (OR=1.2). Conclusions: Among the students twenty-five percent reported having had SI. This is associated with unhealthy habits such as consumption of alcohol, cannabis and cigarettes