Generational and gender differences in sexual life in St. Petersburg and urban Finland

This article is to our knowledge the first empirical comparison of sexual behavior in Eastern and Western Europe. The timing of some sexual life events, sexual behavior patterns, and sexual satisfaction will be compared on the basis of survey data and sexual autobiographies from urban Finland and St. Petersburg (former Leningrad) in Russia. We were interested in the impact of the so-called sexual revolution taking place in public life in different decades - in Western Europe and Finland in the 1960s. in Russia in the late 1980s. We assumed that this difference would appear as country differences in "traditional” vs. “liberated” sexual behavior, and especially in the sexual satisfaction of women. This hypothesis proved generally to be true, but with several important modifications. The sexual behavior and attitudes in St. Petersburg are shown to have liberalized about 15 years later than in Finnish towns. While the sexual behavior of men and women has become almost similar in Finland, the trend towards equalization of sexual life is not as clear in Russia. Divorce and parallel relationships are more common in Russia, while the number of sexual partners and overall sexual satisfaction is higher in Finland. Country, gender, and generation are the main independent variables of the statistical elaborations. The biographical material is used for exemplifying and interpretative purposes

Why are men reporting more sexual partners than women?

Peer reviewe

Reproductive health and sexuality in St. Petersburg: Report of a survey of young men in 2003

The report is a result of collaborative study conducted by Russian and Finnish researchers covering various aspects of reproductive health and family formation. The Reproductive Health and Fertility project aims to provide useful data for solving current health and social problems in the study areas, as well as to increase understanding of the determinants of reproductive health and family formation in general. The survey of St. Petersburg young men is just one of the study instruments. The same questions have been presented to women aged 18-44 years in St. Petersburg and Estonia, and a survey on Estonian men is planned. Most questions have been previously used in Finnish surveys. Various other data collections have been made or are being planned

Postponing Births – Comparing Reasons Among Women in St Petersburg, Estonia and Finland

We compared the reasons for postponing first birth in the three neighbouring areas of St Petersburg (Russia), Estonia and Finland. Data from three population-based surveys among women aged 18–44 years in St Petersburg (response rate 67%); Estonia (54%) and Finland (63%) in the early 2000s were used and analysed with logistic regressions. Childbearing intentions and reasons for postponing parenthood differed between both study areas and age groups. The proportion of women aged 35–44 still planning to have children was highest in Estonia. In the two post-Soviet areas, job insecurity increased postponement intentions among women aged 18–34 years. Enrolment in education was an important reason for postponement among women below 35 years in Estonia and aged 25–34 years in St Petersburg. In Finland, poor economic situation in the youngest age group and desire to advance a career among all women were important reasons to postpone birth. The importance of prolonged education and job insecurity for the timing of births in St Petersburg and Estonia suggests that governments should improve family policy measures to encourage childbearing among the young. In Finland policies to support the reconciliation of family and career and to increase permanent employment could promote parenthood among well-educated women

Socioeconomic differences in self-rated health among women : a comparison of St. Petersburg to Estonia and Finland

Peer reviewe

The determinants of sexually transmitted infections among reproductive age women in St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland

OBJECTIVES: Sexually transmitted infections' (STIs) rate vary in St. Petersburg, Estonia and Finland; the aim was to compare the determinants of self-reported sexually transmitted infections in these areas. METHODS: Data from four population-based questionnaire surveys were used (Finland in 1992 and 1999; St. Petersburg in 2003; Estonia in 2004). With the exception of the 1992 Finnish survey (interview) all were postal surveys, with 1,070 respondents in Finland (78 and 52% response rates), 1,147 (68%) in St. Petersburg, and 5,190 (54%) in Estonia. RESULTS: Risky sexual behaviours were equally common in the three areas and the determinants were the same. Women with an STIs history more often had had their first sexual intercourse when aged under 18, had not used condom during first intercourse, had a high number of lifetime or previous year sexual partners. However, marital status and education were not similar determinants. Cohabiting and well-educated women in Finland were more likely to have STIs while in other areas the associations found were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Risky behaviour predicts STIs, but does not explain the varying rates of STIs between areas.Peer reviewe

Reproductive Health and Fertility in St. Petersburg: Report on a Survey of 18–44 Year Old Women in 2004

This report gives the basic results of a survey of fertile age women in St. Petersburg, made in 2003–2004. It is the fi rst report of a collaborative research project between Russian, Estonian and Finnish researchers. The collaboration covers various aspects of reproductive health and family formation. The project aims to provide useful data for solving current health and social problems in the study areas, as well as to increase understanding of the determinants of reproductive health and family formation in general. This survey of St. Petersburg women is just one of the study instruments. The same questions have been presented to young men in St. Petersburg, and to Estonian women, a survey on Estonian men is planned. These questions have been previously used in Finnish surveys