Introduction

The study aimed to outline the sociodemographic profile of students of a private higher education institution; to know the habits and practices related to sexual and reproductive health care among young people; and to discuss the sexual practices of students and their relationship with risk behavior.

Material and Methods

Descriptive, quantitative study carried out from a research database with data collected from students of a private university in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2014. A sample of 90 nursing students was selected and descriptive statistics were used to analyze data.

Results

The majority of participants, 79 (87.78%), were women; aged between 21 and 23 years (41.11%); without marital mate (80%). With regard to sexual behavior, 72 (80%) had active sex life and 50 (69.44%) had had more than one sexual partner, not always adopting the practice of safe sex. Among female participants, 52 (65.82%) had performed the Pap smear test and 37 (46.84%) had undergone testing for HIV. Among males, 08 (72.73%) had already undergone testing for HIV and 09 (81.82%) have never had sex with women using female condoms.

Conclusion

A significant number of young people do not adopt the use of condoms with long-term or casual partners, thus exposing themselves to illnesses. In this context, health education guidelines are timely and could help to reduce risk behaviors.

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