Background: In Sweden, youth sexual health is worse than that of other residents. Youth also report exposure to violence to a greater extent, threatening their health.

Aim: The aim was to investigate youth’s sexual behaviour, their exposure to violence and self-rated health and its potential relationship, and explore whether youth exposed to violence disclose this.

Method: Cross-sectional studies include data from a web survey among exchange students and youth visiting a youth centre (I–III). Besides background questions, online questionnaires contained validated questions and instruments covering sexual behaviour, exposure to violence, and mental health. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used. A qualitative study was conducted where abused youth were interviewed, and the data were analysed with content analysis (IV).

Results: Most outgoing exchange students rated their health highly, and over half had received information regarding HIV/sexually transmitted infection or safer sex before their trip (I). Eight out of ten exchange students reported at least one sexual risk behaviour. Among youth visiting the youth centre, a greater proportion of teenagers reported sexual debut before age 15 compared with young adults (II). A greater proportion of young adults indicated having had a sexually transmitted infection compared with teenagers (II). Associations were shown between several sexual risk behaviours and exposure to violence, while no difference was shown between the age groups regarding the occurrence of violence (II). Nine out of ten youth rated their health as high, but four out of ten reported being exposed to violence in their lifetime (III). A larger proportion of those exposed to violence reported low self-rated health compared with those not exposed to violence (III). All the youth interviewed expressed that being exposed to violence resulted in losing their security; they described the importance of being questioned about violence, and most of them wanted to disclose having been exposed to violence (IV).

Conclusion: A high incidence of sexual risk behaviour and exposure to violence and the relationship between these experiences was demonstrated in youth. Midwives need to ask sensitive questions to identify youth who risk their health and offer advice or support. How questions are posed can determine whether youth disclose exposure to violence.