Survey throws light on love life of the Maltese

The Maltese are among the most careless Europeans when it comes to protecting themselves during sex, while on the other hand the island has a conservative attitude towards sexuality, according to the results of a new survey.

When embarking on their first sexual venture, 62 per cent of local respondents, who were aged between 18 and 49, failed to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases or an unplanned pregnancy, preferring withdrawal or use no contraception at all.

The Bayer Health Care Yasminelle Opinion Poll shows that the Maltese are burdened with the most serious thoughts and pangs of conscience - they have the strongest association of sex and marriage of all the 12 countries that took part in the survey.

Many Maltese cannot relax when having sex - 21 per cent are thinking about the future of the relationship, while 16 per cent are mulling over whether it is a mistake.

Bayer Schering Pharma, which developed the new low-dosed oral contraceptive pill Yasminelle, commissioned Ipsos to carry out the survey to explore the sexual behaviour in new relationships and general attitudes regarding sex, contraception and the importance of seduction.

The sample size was 200 people from every country aged between 16 and 49, with the exception of Malta, where the age group targeted was 18-49.

The Finns are the most promiscuous of the Europeans surveyed - they have on average 8.7 sexual partners and more than 27 per cent of them had more than 16 partners in their lifetime. At the other end of the spectrum, more than half the Dutch and the Maltese had four partners or less.

The poll points out that in predominantly Catholic countries like Malta, Ireland, Italy, and Poland, younger generations on average had more sex partners than older respondents, "which shows a value shift in these previously (and partly still) more socially conservative societies".

Overall, friends are the most important source of information on sex - in Malta this is the case with 62 per cent of respondents, followed by their school teacher (51 per cent), television (36 per cent) and magazines (34 per cent).

Dutch mothers, and to a lower extent also German, Swiss and Irish mothers, tend to educate their children about sex. However, in Malta, just a quarter seek their sexual education from their mother.

Teenagers curious to find out about sex rarely confront their siblings and physicians. The father plays only a minimal role in Malta, where just 10 per cent provide education on this subject. The internet provides 20 per cent of Maltese with sexual knowledge. When having sex for the first time, the Finns are youngest (average age is 16.8), while the Maltese are the oldest with the average age being 18.8, according to the survey.

Condoms are the contraception of choice for the first sexual encounter, especially in Greece. In Malta, though they are more likely not to use any contraception, just over 40 per cent use condoms. Coils and injections are overall unimportant.

The pill plays a major role when young people embark on their first sexual intercourse in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, whereas its use in Malta is minimal.

Most men are aware of the contraceptive their partners use. The lowest figures are seen in Malta (57 per cent), where contraception is not openly addressed and less frequently used.

On the issues of seduction, the poll shows that saying you are in love is more appealing to women than to men, especially for 57 per cent of Maltese women, who believe saying "I love you" is very important.

Dutch (31 per cent) and Maltese (29 per cent) women are also keener on compliments than women in other countries. The right time to have sex with a new partner is in most countries determined by sexual desire. In Malta (76 per cent), the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy and Germany, love is equal or more important than sexual desire. In the Netherlands, Germany, Malta (59 per cent) and Poland, trust also holds more weight than sexual desire.

When it comes to the ideal time to have sex for the first time with a new partner, perception varies from country to country: While the Greek want to arrive at that point extremely soon (50 per cent want to wait a maximum of one week), almost 30 per cent of Maltese feel they should wait until getting married... and 22 per cent practise it.

When it comes to one-night stands, the faithful Dutch and Catholic Maltese (33 per cent), have the least experience with such flings.

Love and sex

Generally, the Maltese have few partners in their life and start having sex late compared to other countries in the survey (frequently only after getting married):

• Second lowest number of partners in life of all countries (on average 5.8) and oldest when first having sex (18.8 years).

• 29 per cent say the ideal point in time to have sex in a new relationship is only after being married - 22 adhere to this belief.

• 60 per cent (highest in Europe) find sex too private to have it early in a relationship.

• Seven per cent of couples never have sex (probably because they are not married yet).

Love is very closely connected with sex:

• Only 21 per cent of Maltese would have sex without being in love.

• Only 33 per cent had a one-night stand.

• 40 per cent of Maltese would like to be seduced by the words "I love you".