Knowledge and Attitude of Students Living in Assiut University Dorms About Consanguinity

Consanguineous refers to union of individuals having a common ancestor or marriage between a man and woman related by blood. The most common form of consanguineous union contracted is between first cousins. The Aim of the Study: To assess university students knowledge and attitude regarding consanguineous, because consanguineous are widely practiced among Arabs. Subjects and Methods: Descriptive cross sectional study was conducted at Assiut University dorms. The sample included 650 females and 350 males according to proportional distri-bution of both sex in Assiut University dorms in academic year 2011. Data were collected by using personal interview structured questionnaire include socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex education, family size and income), knowledge of students about the consanguinity, and attitude about it. Results: 52.8% of studied students their age ranged from 17 to less than 20 years with the mean age of students 19.4±1.4. More than one third (35.0%) of University students were males. As regarding students religion the majority (93.1%) of studied sample were Moslems. 71.9% of the students had poor knowledge about consanguinity. While more than three quarter (75.8%) of the students had positive attitude toward consanguinity marriage. Conclusion and Recommendations: There was a significant difference between student s sex and their knowledge and attitudes toward consanguinity marriage. The adolescent and youth should educate about the problems and consequences of the consanguineous through educational program in different grads focus on premarital care.