[Risky sexual behavior among university students in health science courses].

Objective: To evaluate the sexual behavior of female students enrolled in the Department of Health Science of the Federal University of Paraná and the Department of Biological and Health Scienceof the State University of Paraná at the Cascavel campus.

Methods: All the female students, 18 to 24 years of age, enrolled in the above departments in June 2001 were included in the final sample comprised 572 students in Curitiba and 395 in Cascavel. The study evaluated age, family relationship, religiousness, participation in sex education classes and age at initiation of sexual activity.