Relationship Between Orphanhood Status, Living Arrangements and Sexual Debut: Evidence From Females in Middle Adolescence in Southern Africa

Abstract

SummaryThis study examined the relationship between orphanhood status, living arrangements and sexual debut. The study is important in the context of southern Africa, where a substantial number of children live apart from their parents because the parent is dead or living elsewhere, and where female adolescents face disproportionate sexual and reproductive health risks. Data for female adolescents were taken from Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in seven southern African countries. Unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios of sexual debut were estimated using Cox Proportional Hazard models. The results from multivariate analyses showed that non-co-residence with biological parents was significantly associated with higher risk of sexual debut in five of the seven countries. Using pooled data, the results showed that father absence was associated with higher risk of sexual debut - whether the father was deceased or living elsewhere. Interventions to delay sexual debut among female adolescents should seek to promote father-adolescent co-residence and improve access to education.

Aggression and Anabolic–Androgenic Steroid Use Intent in Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study

“…Hence, the present study demonstrates that the cross-sectional relationship established between index aggression and AAS use intent at age 18 (Sagoe et al, 2016a) may not apply longitudinally from ages 18 to 19. Our finding that adolescents living alone at 18 years show higher intent to use AAS at 19 years is in line with previous studies (Kindlundh et al, 1999;Mulhall, Stone, & Stone, 1996) indicating that living alone is a risk factor for AAS use, as well as other substance misuse (Kindlundh et al, 1999;Makanjuola, Daramola, Obembe, 2007) and problem behaviour (Daka & Shaweno, 2014;Shoko, Ibisomi, Levin, & Ginsburg, 2018) in adolescence.…”

Global, regional, and national minimum estimates of children affected by COVID-19-associated orphanhood and caregiver death, by age and family circumstance up to Oct 31, 2021: an updated modelling study

“…†The global extrapolation total varies slightly to the one presented in table 1 because we did not account for double orphanhood in the age analysis owing to very small numbers (0•1%), and we included more uncertainty in this model (appendix pp 3, 5-6). [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

“…Younger bereaved children need immediate full-time nurturing and ongoing support for early childhood development, and the quality of care affects subsequent development, health, and mental health. Adolescents face post-orphanhood risks (varying across contexts) including sexual violence, exploitation, 20 HIV infection, 21 suicide, child labour, adolescent pregnancy, separation from family, household poverty, and leaving school to care for younger siblings. [20][21][22] Our finding that adolescents were most likely to lose a parent or caregiver can inform priorities for national plans.…”

The Effect of Family Living Arrangement on Delayed Sexual Debut Among Female Teenagers in Indonesia

“…Research in Sierra Leone, for example, shows the protective effect of living with a surviving biological parent to delay early sexual debut (Stark et al, 2016). Other studies in Africa noted that early sexual debut was positively associated with living with one biological parent (Pilgrim et al, 2014;Shoko et al, 2018;Wamoyi et al, 2015). Biological parents have been seen as primary caregivers who provide care and guidance to their children through parent-child relationships and parental supervision.…”

“…Female adolescents with better education are less likely to initiate early sexual intercourse due to adequate information and knowledge about SRH needs and rights provided by education (Baruwa & Amoateng, 2019). Moreover, recent evidence suggests that universal access to education may help delay the timing of sexual debut (Shoko et al, 2018) and recognizes the importance of sex education programs at middle school youth that reduces sexual risk-taking behavior.…”