Determinants of sexual communication between adolescents and their parents in Adaklu district, Volta region, Ghana: A multinomial logistic regression analysis

Abstract

Background: Poor sexual communication between adolescents and their parents results in high rates of negative sexual practices such as teenage pregnancy. Contributing factors to this poor sexual communication between adolescent and their parents in a high teenage pregnancy setting have not been adequately explored. We sought to fill this gap by examining the factors that predict sexual communication between adolescents and their parents in the Adaklu district of the Volta region of Ghana.Methods: A baseline cross-sectional household survey of 221 adolescents aged 10-19 years in 30 randomly selected communities was used. A well-structured questionnaire was developed. A multinomial logistics regression analysis was used to examine factors that significantly influenced communication between adolescents and their parents regarding sex.Results: Only 11.3% and 27.6% of adolescents had discussions on sex with both parents and only one parent respectively in Adaklu district. Adolescent males (AOR=0.21, CI=0.06-0.75), aged 10-14 years (AOR=0.41,CI=0.04-0.57), non-members of adolescent health clubs (AOR=0.46, CI=0.21-1.00), and living with only a father (AOR=0.19,CI= 0.06-0.61) have the lower odds of communicating with their parents on sexual issues. Conclusions: Adolescent-parental sexual communication in Adaklu district is very low. This situation requires more empowerment of adolescents to enable them to discuss sexual issues with their parents through increased engagement with adolescent health club activities and capacity building capacity of parents with the right information on sexual and reproductive health by health staff within the district. Additionally, parents need to be equipped with communication skills to enable them to communicate effectively with their children.

Predictors of sexual and reproductive health knowledge and utilization of services among adolescents in Ghana’s Adaklu district

“…Slightly over 28% of caregivers had completed only primary school, and the remaining 14.05% had received no formal education. The majority of the adolescent respondents lived with either one (41.63%) or both (38.91%) biological parents, although 19.46% shared a household with neither of their parents. Between 10% and 20% of participants hailed from each of the five sub-districts.…”

“…Despite the presence of 15 public clinics and health centers across Adaklu district, just 10% of adolescent residents have ever obtained clinical SRH support or counseling. 19,20 This low utilization of services presents a substantial cause for concern, particularly against the backdrop of the epidemic of adolescent pregnancy. Nonetheless, the factors predicting young people's engagement with the available services remain largely unexamined.…”