Predicting sexual risk and sexual health screening in a sample of university students in Lebanon: a cross-sectional study

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic profile of the sample.

	Mean	SD
Age	20.9	2.38
Religiosity	2.0	0.84
Psychological distress	2.6	0.95
	n	%
Gender
Males	77	30.8
Females	169	67.6
Non-binary	4	1.6
Nationality
Lebanese	233	93.2
Palestinian	4	1.6
Syrian	2	0.8
Other	11	4.4
Religion
Maronite	90	38.1
Catholic	29	12.3
Greek Orthodox	16	6.8
Christian minorities	5	2.1
Sunni	48	20.3
Shia	35	14.8
Muslim minorities	2	0.8
Druze	11	4.7
Sexual Orientation
Heterosexual	161	64.4
Sexual minorities	89	35.6
Relationship status
Single	173	69.2
In a relationship	77	30.8

Table 2. List of variables collected in the questionnaire with the number of items, examples of items, and possible answers for each variable.

Variable collected	Number of items	Examples of items	Possible answers
Religiosity (Abbreviated Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire)	5 items (internal reliability α = 0.91)	I pray daily	4-point scale (1 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree)
Psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory)	18 items (internal reliability α = 0.93)	Physical symptoms of depression, psychological symptoms of anxiety, and suicidal ideation	5-point scale (1 = not at all to 5 = extremely)
Use of contraceptives	1 item	If you are a female, do you use the contraceptive pill or another form of hormonal contraception?	Yes/ No
HIV/STI screening	1 item	frequency of screening for HIV and STIs respectively	5-point scale (1 = Never to 5 = Every 3 months)
Frequency of having sex while under the influence of alcohol	1 item	In the last month, how frequently did you have sex while under the influence of alcohol?	5-point scale from 1 = Never to 5 = Very often
Frequency of having sex while under the influence of drugs	1 item	In the last month, how frequently did you have sex while under the influence of drugs?
Frequency of having condomless vaginal and anal	2 items	In the last month, how frequently did you have vaginal sex without condom? In the last month, how frequently did you have anal sex without condom?
Frequency of performing oral sex without condom	1 item	In the last month, how frequently did you perform oral sex without condom?
Frequency of feeling forced to engage in sexual activity	1 item	In the last month, how frequently did you feel forced to engage in sexual activity?
Frequency of discussing contraception with sexual partners	1 item	In the last month, how frequently did you discuss contraception with sexual partners?
Frequency of having sex with someone they just met	1 item	In the last month, how frequently did you have sex with someone you just met?
Frequency of paying for sex or getting paid for sex	1 item	In the last month, how frequently did you pay or get paid for sex?
Frequency of engaging in a sexual activity later regretted	1 item	In the last month, how frequently did you engage in a sexual activity later regretted?

Figure 1. Sexual risk taking among females by contraceptive use.

Table 3. Results of statistically significant correlations.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
1. Religiosity	1	–.202**	–.155*	–.252**	–.234**	–.162*	–.113	–.125*	–.123*	–.049	–.002
2. Psychological distress	–.202**	1	.026	.068	.163**	.136*	–.013	.019	.109	.269**	.191**
3. Frequency of condomless vaginal sex	–.155*	.026	1	.478**	.389**	.363**	.290**	.030	.248**	.051	.086
4. Frequency of oral sex without condom	–.252**	.068	.478**	1	.362**	.230**	.155**	–.084	.396**	.149*	.229**
5. Frequency of sex under the effect of alcohol	–.234**	.163**	.389**	.362**	1	.505**	.247**	.144*	.239**	.148*	.232**
6. Frequency of sex under the effect of drugs	–.162*	.136*	.363**	.230**	.505**	1	.359**	.225**	.176**	.216**	.272**
7. Frequency of having sex with someone they just met	–.113	–.013	.290**	.155*	.247**	.359**	1	.200**	.002	.089	.233**
8. Frequency of paying for sex	–.125*	.019	.030	–.084	.144*	.225**	.200**	1	.117	–.067	.099
9. Frequency of discussing contraception with sex partner	–.123*	.109	.248**	.396**	.239**	.176**	.002	.117	1	.130*	.152*
10. Frequency of feeling forced to have sex	–.049	.269**	.051	.149*	.148*	.216**	.089	–.067	.130*	1	.593**
11. Frequency of having sex which was regretted later	–.002	.191**	.086	.229**	.232**	.272**	.233**	.099	.152*	.593**	1

* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed);

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).