Aim: Adolescents constitute one-fifth of Nigerian population. Risky sexual behaviour is reported to be rampant amongst them and the females often bear the brunt of the consequence. A comparative analysis was made of the sexual and contraceptive practices of unmarried female students and non students, in Onitsha Anambra State, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional comparative design in which 391 school girls were selected from 25 private and 17 public schools in the local government making use of multistage sampling method. Another 392 out-of school adolescent girls were selected from a major market in the same area using cluster sampling technique. Data on socio-demographic profile, sexual practices and contraceptive use were collected by means of pre-tested questionnaires. Results: A statistically significant proportion of the out-of-school girls 24.3% has had sex compared to the in-school girls 17.1% (P<0.05). The out-of-school girls also had statistically significantly lower mean age of sexual debut 14.7±2.7 compared to the in-school girls with a mean of 15.0±2.6. The main reasons for sexual initiation were pressure from partner and friends, transactional and non-consensual sex were also common among both groups. About half of the girls in both groups had multiple sexual partners but a larger proportion of the in-school respondents had sexual partners 5-10 years older than their age. There was no statistically significant difference in the proportion that used contraception at first or last sexual intercourse in both groups. Conclusion: Stakeholders in adolescent reproductive health should develop appropriate strategies such as sustainable peer education to improve the sexual health behaviour of the adolescents, especially the out-of-school girls who are evidently more vulnerable than their in-school counterparts. Community participation in health is also advocated for greater positive impact on the sexual practice and contraceptive use by the adolescents.

Background: Sexual behaviours and practises of the youth are important in an era of HIV/AIDS especially since a third of Nigerian population are young. Parent-child sexuality communication has been identified as a protective factor for adolescent sexual and reproductive health, including HIV infection. Objectives: To assess sexual behaviours and practises of unmarried young undergraduates and factors which may influence them. Methods: A questionnaire based cross-sectional study of 246 youths aged 15-24 years was done. SPSS version 20.0 was used for data analysis. Chi 2 and t-test were used to test for significance. p<0.05 was accepted as significant. Results: Mean age of participants was 21.9+2.02years, 53.4% were males and 49.5% were of upper socioeconomic class. Sexual intercourse had occurred in 208(74.4%) of which 193(92.8%) were currently sexually active.The mean age at sexual debut was 15.98+3.95years, while 16.67+4.03years and 15.41+3.81years were for females and males respectively(t=39.85, p<0.001). Contraceptive-use occurred in 135(64.9%) majority attributing non-use to misconceptions, non-availability and non-accessibility of contraceptive devices. The nature of first sexual intercourse was consensual for 146(52.0%) while the rest were either forced or coerced into intercourse, majority without contraceptives. Majority of participants had no formal discussions about sex and sexuality with parents/school teachers. Those of the upper socioeconomic class were more likely to use contraceptives and to communicate freely with parents on sex. Conclusion: While majority of young people in our locale are currently sexually active, unsafe sexual practices are the norm. Parent-child sex and sexuality education is thereby recommended.

Abortion complications constitute 13% of maternal deaths worldwide and 40% of maternal deaths in Nigeria, while 80% of patients with abortion complications are adolescents.Assessing the adolescents’ knowledge and attitude and the determinants of their sexual activities and contraceptive usage.This was a cross-sectional study conducted among high school students of Ogbomoso – a semi-urban settlement. Stratified multistage randomization was used to select one high school from each of five local government areas of the study site. Students were interviewed with pretested questionnaire to sought information on demographic status, family type, knowledge of sexuality, and contraceptive usages.The age range of the respondents was 10–19 years with mean±SD age 13.7±1.9 years. Among them, 6.5% were sexually active. Of the respondents, 56.8% scored good knowledge about sexuality and contraception and 57.5% respondents had good attitude to contraception. Age (p=0.004) and father’s education (p=...

This study was a crossectional survey conducted among 716 senior secondary school adolescents in Ibadan from March to August 2005. The result of 695 that was analyzed revealed that the mean age of 15 +/- 2.6years. 28.3% of the respondents had previous sexual exposure with higher proportions being male (p = 0.00043). Majorities&#39; first sexual exposure was unplanned. Family settings and educational level do not have significant influence on the previous sexual exposure. The methods of sexual activity were mainly through vagina route while some had also practiced oral and anal sex. Most of those that are sexually exposed had more than one partner. About half of the respondents learn about sex from their friends while others through their parents and media. We conclude that in-school adolescents practiced unsafe sexual activity and they are therefore predisposed to STI/HIV and other reproductive health risks.

The objective of this study is to determine the sexual patterns among their school and out of school adolescents in Kavango region, Namibia and identify the association between the socio-demographic characteristics of the adolescents and their sexual behaviors. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted using mixed methods-quantitative and qualitative approaches among 350 school learners (grade 6 to grade 12) and 150 school dropout adolescents (aged 12 to 18 years). The stratified random sampling techniques were used in the selections of the circuit and the schools. Structured questionnaires were used in face-to-face interviews, and in depth interviews were conducted among the key informants (teachers). The following variables include the demographics (age, grade, parent marital status, and school drop-out status), sexual behavior (age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, abortion, and age at abortion), economic (employment, financial support). Descriptive statistics was used to summarise the above-mentioned variables. Cross-tabulations of demographic, sexual and economic variables were used to describe the relative frequencies. The associations between different categorical variables were assessed using Chi-square test whilst the identification of different determining factors was analyzed with the epidemiological methods using odds ratios and/or estimated relative risks. The means, standard deviation and 95 % confidence interval were computed. The differences between different variables or factors were considered to be statistically significant for p-values less than 0.05. The study found that early sexual debut, first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, relationship with sexual partners older than 5 years and dropping out of schoolwere associated with adolescent pregnancy in Kavango region.