Prevalence and predictors of premarital sexual intercourse among young women in sub-Saharan Africa

Reproductive Health

Research

Richard Gyan Aboagye¹  James Boadu Frimpong²  John Elvis Hagan³  Ebenezer Kwesi Armah-Ansah⁴  Eugene Budu⁵  Abdul-Aziz Seidu⁶  Bright Opoku Ahinkorah⁷  Stephen Kofi Anin⁸ 

[1] Department of Family and Community Health, Fred N. Binka School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, Ghana;Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana;Department of Kinesiology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA;Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana;Neurocognition and Action-Biomechanics-Research Group, Faculty of Psychology and Sport Sciences, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany;Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana;Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana;Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, P.O.Box 77, Accra, Ghana;REMS Consult, Takoradi, Ghana;Centre for Gender and Advocacy, Takoradi Technical University, P.O. Box 256, Takoradi, Ghana;College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia;REMS Consult, Takoradi, Ghana;School of Public Health, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia;School of Public Health, Bielefeld University, P.O. Box 100131, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany;Department of Industrial and Health Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Takoradi Technical University, P.O. Box 256, Takoradi, Ghana;

关键词: Premarital sexual intercourse;    Sexual and reproductive health;    sub-Saharan Africa;    Young women;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12978-023-01626-8

 received in 2022-01-11, accepted in 2023-05-21,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionPremarital sexual intercourse (PSI) without adequate information and/or appropriate application of the relevant knowledge about sex before marriage, potentially has adverse effects on the sexual and reproductive health outcomes of vulnerable young women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study sought to examine the prevalence and predictors of PSI among young women aged 15–24 in SSA.MethodsNationally representative cross-sectional data from 29 countries in SSA were extracted for the study. A weighted sample size of 87,924 never married young women was used to estimate the prevalence of PSI in each country. A multilevel binary logistic regression modelling approach was used to examine the predictors of PSI at p < 0.05.ResultsThe prevalence of PSI among young women in SSA was 39.4%. Young women aged 20–24 (aOR = 4.49, 95% CI = 4.34, 4.65) and those who had secondary/higher educational level (aOR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.54, 1.72) were more likely to engage in PSI compared to those aged 15–19 and those with no formal education. However, young women who belonged to the Islamic religion (aOR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.56, 0.78); those who were working (aOR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.73, 0.78); belonged to the richest wealth index (aOR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.52, 0.58); were not exposed to radio at all (aOR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.81, 0.99); were not exposed to television at all (aOR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.46, 0.53); resided in rural areas (aOR = 0.73, 95% CI = 0.70, 0.76); and those who were living in the East African sub-region (aOR = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.29, 0.35) were less likely to engage in PSI compared to those who were traditionalist, unemployed, belonged to the poorest wealth index, exposed to radio frequently, exposed to television frequently, resided in urban areas, and lived in the Southern Africa sub-region, respectively.ConclusionSub-regional variations in the prevalence of PSI exist amidst multiple risk factors among young women in SSA. Concerted efforts are required to empower young women financially, including education on sexual and reproductive health behaviors such as the detrimental effects of sexual experimentation and encouraging abstinence and/or condom use through regular youth-risk communication advocacy.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 1