European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR AND CONTRACEPTIVE PRACTICES AMONG OUT- OF - SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN A SUBURBAN, SOUTHWESTERN, NIGERIA

Adegboye Isaac Isawumi*, Adeniyi Fasanu and Modupeola Oludolapo Isawumi

ABSTRACT

Early sexual debut and high rate of risky sexual behaviour that occur in adolescent, particularly when associated with inconsistent or non-use of contraception, predispose them to serious short and long term health consequences. Most studies on adolescent’s behaviour were carried out on school students, whereas the out- of- school adolescents are the most vulnerable to high risk sexual activities. A descriptive cross sectional study design with the aid of a pretested, semi-structured questionnaire administered on 720 out- of-school adolescents selected by using stratified random sampling technique was done. Data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS version 20). Five hundred and eighty two (82.2%) of the respondents have had sexual intercourse. The mean age of sexual debut was the same in the two sexes, 15.1 ± 2.03years, with minimum age of 9 and 10 years in female and male respectively. More male respondents had multiple sexual partners compared to the females (p=0.001). The contraceptive usage was low among the respondents and the commonest contraceptive used was condom. The fear of side effects particularly on future fertility was the commonest drawback to contraceptive usage. Influence of living with parents on promoting sexual abstinence is statistically significant (p=0.001) but there was no contraceptive education provided by their parents/guardians. In conclusion, there was low usage of preventive methods, in term of condom and other contraceptives, which can mitigate the health consequences of out-of-school adolescents’ risky sexual behaviours. More health promotion programs on adolescents’ sexuality and contraceptive uses should be intensified.

Keywords: Contraception, out-of-school adolescent, sexual behaviour, Nigeria.