Survey of Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use Among Unmarried Young School and College Drop-Outs in a Defined Nigerian Population

Abstract

This study sought to characterize sexual behaviour, contraceptive use and contributory upbringing factors among young people who had dropped out of school or college in a Nigerian setting. A community-based, cross-sectional sexual survey of 161 young people aged between 15 and 35 who had dropped out of school or college was performed in Ado-Ekiti, south-west Nigeria, in April 2015. One hundred and nineteen of the respondents (73.9%) had had sexual intercourse. Mean age at sexual debut was 19.08±3.5 years. Of those with sexual experience, 79 (66.4%) had their sexual debut with a previous boy/girlfriend and 33 (27.7%) had it in their current relationship. Three (2.5%) respondents had first sex with a stranger. About 90% were still having sexual intercourse within 12 months of the survey; more males had had sex than females (81.1% versus 67.8%). Around 80% of those with sexual exposure practised a form of contraception, mainly use of the male condom, but fewer than 25% were all-time contraceptive users. Coming from a single-parent family (p=0.04) or from a family of poor economic status (AOR: 7.41; 95% CI: 0.69-0.83) were found to be associated with sexual debut by the age of 19 and premarital sex, respectively, in these young people. Unprotected sexual intimacy was found to be high among young school/college drop-outs in this region of Nigeria. This group of young people need targeted reproductive health intervention as they represent a potent route for HIV transmission in the region.

Knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of premarital sex among bedsit-living students in Hue City, Vietnam

“…We found that male students were more sexually active than their female counterparts (69% vs. 31%). This finding was also in keeping with previous data as men have more permissive attitudes towards premarital sex than women (Adanikin et al, 2017;Berhan and Berhan, 2015;Motamedi et al, 2016;UNFPA, 2015;Xu et al, 2019;Yip et al, 2013), probably because men have greater freedom to be involved in sexual relation (Motamedi et al, 2016). Some studies suggest that young men and women engage in premarital sex in different circumstances.…”

“…A study of urban adolescents aged 17 to 20 in Thailand reported that 90% of out of school boys and 53% of out of school girls had commenced sexual activity, compared with 33 and 15% who were still at school, respectively (Tangmunkongvorakul et al, 2012). Another study of dropout college students in Nigeria found 73.9% students had full sexual intercourse (Adanikin et al, 2017). In Cambodia, 18% of young men in urban areas have had premarital sex compared with 6% in rural areas (Rathavuth, 2009).…”

Association Between Single-Parent Family Structure and Age of Sexual Debut Among Young Persons in Jamaica

“…In the very few studies done in the Caribbean region, Allen et al (2013) reported that more than 50% of their respondents experienced early sexual debut (defined in their study as before 15 years). A study using a nationally representative sample in Nigeria found that the median age of sexual debut was 16 years for females and 17 years for males (Odimegwu & Somefun, 2017), while another study in the western part of Nigeria found a mean age of 19.08 years (Adanikin et al, 2016). Valle et al (2005) reported that 25% of their study respondents in Oslo, Norway, had early sexual debut (before 16 years).…”

“…Regarding the association between single-family structure and age of sexual debut, Adanikin et al (2016) found that being raised in a single-parent family was significantly associated with early age of sexual debut. Goldberg et al (2017) observed that girls were more likely to initiate sex early if raised by a single parent, and noted that parental union stability (as evidenced by a two-parent family) had a protective effect against early sexual debut in the United States.…”

Influence of Socioeconomic Status on Risky Sexual Behaviours among Undergraduate Students from selected Universities in Nakuru County, Kenya

“…Rios-Zertuche et al (2017) noted that poor adolescents in Costa Rica begin sexual activities early and undertake behaviours that increase their risk of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. In Africa, socioeconomic status was identified as one of the psychosocial factors that may influence risky sexual behaviour (Adanikin, Adanikin, Orji, & Adeyanju, 2017;Berhan, & Berhan, 2015). In Kenya, Embleton et al (2015) noted that young people living in HIV-prone situations endemic settings face unique sexual health risks, and in the context of abject poverty, orphan-hood, social marginalisation, and discrimination, young people may be particularly at-risk of horizontal HIV transmission.…”