Sexual Health Literacy among Unmarried Men Attending Premarital Counseling Center: A Cross-sectional Study in Northwest Iran

Abstract

Background: Sexual health literacy (SHL) is an important predictor of an individual's sexual behavior. However, little is known about this issue among Iranian men. This study aimed to determine sexual health literacy in unmarried men attending the premarital counseling center in an Iranian setting.

Methods: This analytic cross-sectional study was conducted in Ardabil Province between April and October 2023 on unmarried men who referred to the only premarital counseling center. A total of 384 eligible men were included in the study via a simple random sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and a standardized SHELA questionnaire and were then analyzed using SPSS software version 27.

Results: Over 50% of the participants had adequate (36%) and excellent (23%) SHL. The results revealed that men’s educational level was significantly associated with SHL and all of its dimensions (P<0.05). Additionally, there was a significant correlation between men's occupation and their ability to access SHL (P<0.05), and urban men had lower SHL levels than rural men (P<0.05).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that more than half of the unmarried men had adequate or excellent SHL. Factors such as education, occupation, and place of residence had a significant relationship with SHL. Government organizations and stakeholders should develop policies and programs to improve comprehensive sexual health literacy programs for them.