Does family life education influence attitudes towards sexual and reproductive health behaviour among unmarried young women in India?

Inadequate comprehensive efforts towards meeting the demands for sexual and reproductive health needs among adolescent and young people, intensifies the menace of loosing away the progress achieved towards the MDGs over last one decade, particularly in the context of developing countries including India. Using data from DLHS-3, this research evaluated the demographic and socioeconomic differentials in access to family life/sex education (FLE) among unmarried young women in India. Additionally, using the adjusted multiple logistic regression models, the association between access to FLE and attitudes towards range of sexual and reproductive health matters among unmarried women were investigated. Only 48% of unmarried women received some form of FLE. Importantly, the likelihood of possessing positive attitudes towards reproductive activities, knowledge and discussion of contraceptive methods, precise awareness about pathways of RTIs/STIs and HIV/AIDS were significantly higher among women who had access to the FLE. Present study underscores protective role of FLE towards improving the sexual and reproductive life experiences of young people. Henceforth, it emphasizes need for implementing a culturally appropriate and comprehensive programme of FLE to address the sexual and reproductive health needs of the younger cohort in India.