Risks of sexual relations in representations of students

.The goal of the workwasto determine on the basis of sociological research the representation of medical students about the possible risks of sexual relations. Materials and methods. The survey of 659 students of medical and pediatric faculties of Saratov State Medical University n.a. V. I. Razumovsky and Volgograd State Medical University. Results of the research demonstrate that the most significant risks of sexual relations considered by the students are sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy. However, despite a high level of awareness of probability of their occurrence less than a half of the students always use necessary remedies to avoid these risks, this fact allows to refer students to a group with an increased risk of STI and unwanted pregnancy. It is determined that self-treatment practice in regard to STI is not wild-spread among medical students due to the presence of deeper knowledge about reproduc- tive health. Conclusion. The analysis of author's research data and the works devoted to the problem of sexual relations risks among youth allows to state the imbalance between students' knowledge of sexual contacts risks and their real behavioral practices, and a significant decrease in the level of preventive work. Medical students can be considered as a resource for optimizing this type of work with students of high schools, colleges and other universities.