Objective: To understand the current situation regarding sex education in home and school settings in China, and to provide a scientific basis for more effective family and school sex education. Methods: Using a convenient sampling method, a crosssectional survey of students from grade 7 to grade 9 in Beijing, Liaoning, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan and Henan was carried out from September to December 2021. The questionnaire covered general demographic information, sex education at home and school, and the status of comprehensive sexuality education. Finally, 4 109 valid questionnaires were collected. Results: A total of 760(18.50%) middle school students had not received any form of sex education, 923(22.46%) had only received sex education at school, 299(7.28%) had only received sex education at home, and 2 127 (51.76%) had received sex education at home and at school. The scores related to junior middle school students knowledge of comprehensive sexuality education was (12.43±2.89) points, the attitude score was (47.86±5.31) points, the behavior score was (40.44±5.18) points, and the comprehensive level score was (82.02±9.01) points. Junior middle school students who received sex education at home and in school had the highest comprehensive level of sex education( P <0.01). Junior middle school students who only received sex education at school had a higher comprehensive sexuality education knowledge level than those who only received sex education at home( P < 0.01 ). The level of comprehensive sexuality education behavior among junior middle school students who only received family sex education was significantly higher than among those who only received sex education at school( P <0.01). Conclusion Receiving sex education in both home and school settings can effectively improve the comprehensive sexuality education competency among junior middle school students. School based sex education should be further implemented in the future and family sex education should be encouraged.

Abstract Improving health literacy can effectively reduce the risk of health risk behaviors and adverse health outcomes in children and adolescents. Global research on health literacy of children and adolescents has been increasing in recent years. The paper reviews the existing research and proposes that there is no universal definition and connotation of health literacy for children and adolescents, most of the studies use or make some revisions on the definition of adult health literacy in child and adolescent health literacy, failing to consider developmental characteristics and unique health needs of children and adolescents. Moreover, the assessment index system and instruments are diversified, making the research findings from different studies difficult to compare, and to obtain consistent and reliable conclusions. Future endeavors are encoouraged to expand health literacy researches and to update more comprehensive and practical definition, and to develop a standardized assessment instrument that can be validated in Chinese culture.