Background:

Sexology training and a tolerant attitude towards sexuality are key for nurses to be able to approach the topic appropriately at work. Therefore, the main goal of this study is to determine whether sexology training as part of the nursing degree affects students’ attitudes towards sexuality.

Method:

A case-control study was performed on 127 students and postgraduates from Facultad de Enfermería de Gijón, dividing the sample in two groups according to their attendance to specific sexology training. The attitudes were assessed using a translated version of Trueblood Sexual Attitude Questionnaire, and data analysis was performed using SPSS software.

Results:

There are statistically significant differences (p= 0.015) between the mean total score from the group that had received the training (6.53 ± 0.81) and the mean total score from the group that hadn’t (6.13 ± 1.06). Attitudes from members of both groups were more open towards other people’s behaviour (7.53 ± 0.76 versus 7.25 ± 1.06) than towards their own (5.54 ± 1.03 versus 5.00 ± 1.28), respectively.

Conclusions:

It is verified that receiving sexology training correlates with more liberal attitudes towards sexuality. Only 24.8% of nursing faculties in Spain offer specific sexology courses.

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