Exploring Sexual Behaviour and Associated Factors among Adolescents in Saudi Arabia: A Call to End Ignorance

Abstract

Little is known about sexual behaviour, attitudes, and associated factors among adolescents in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional study using a multistage sampling technique was conducted among 453 male adolescents selected from high schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. About 54.1% of the adolescents practiced masturbation daily and 38% had experienced sexual contact, while 67% had friends who had experienced sexual contact. The majority of adolescents (72.2%) believed men engage in sexual experience before marriage, and only 11.5% discussed sexual health issues with their parents. Most adolescents believed in the effectiveness of sex education (92.3%) and the need for school-based sex education (85.6%). The logistic regression analyses showed adolescent sexual activity was independently associated with age [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3-1.8, p < 0.001), daily masturbation (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3-3.2, p < 0.004), friends who engaged in sexual activity (AOR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.4-4.6, p < 0.001), and belief that men experience sexual contact before marriage (AOR = 5.1, 95% CI: 2.8-9.3, p < 0.001). The findings indicated that male adolescents had negative attitudes toward sexual activity and were involved in risky sexual behaviour. To mitigate these issues, schools and community networks should be involved in the delivery of a culturally sensitive sexual health-promoting programme.

Perceptions and intervention preferences of Moroccan adolescents, parents, and teachers regarding risks and protective factors for risky sexual behaviors leading to sexually transmitted infections in adolescents: qualitative findings

“…As mentioned previously by several studies [19, 20, 31, 49–51], adolescents undergo physiologic, psychological, and emotional changes that are characterized by curiosity, carelessness, and a high level of sexual pleasure-seeking, which we found to be among the main causes for adolescent to engage in risky sexual behaviors. This can be explained by the increase in risk-taking during adolescence as a result of changes in the brain’s socio-emotional system leading to increased sensation seeking [51]; these changes can contribute to the tendency in adolescents to focus on immediate desires without considering the long-term consequences of their behavior on health.…”

“…Within an adolescent’s social environment during growth and development, family and peers are important sources of protective and risk factors for risky sexual behaviors and STI acquisition. With regard to family influence, as reported elsewhere [11, 27, 31, 50, 52–54], the lack of discourse on sexual health between parents and their adolescent children and inappropriate parental knowledge about these issues were shown to be important facilitators for risky sexual practices in adolescents. Parents also stated feeling embarrassed and shy to discuss these taboo issues with their children while some of them believed that such discussion would encourage sexual activity.…”

“…Adolescence is a period of life in which teens reach sexual maturity, and begin to make reproductive health decisions and choices based on their background knowledge and the availability of reproductive health services, especially with regard to abstinence, use of condoms and contraceptives, and decisions to keep a pregnancy [11, 28, 29]. During this age period, many adolescents engage in their first sexual practices that are prone to reproductive health problems lasting into adulthood [10, 28, 30, 31]. It is also a period of exploration and experimentation, more susceptible to STIs.…”

“…It is also a period of exploration and experimentation, more susceptible to STIs. Adolescents are also more vulnerable because of their lack of knowledge about STIs and their involvement in risky sexual practices, including early sexual initiation, unsafe sex, multiple sexual partners, and inconsistent condom use [12, 19, 22, 23, 28, 31–34]. Concurrently, adolescence is also a formative period, where positive behaviors and healthy lifestyles can be learned and established [20, 35].…”

“…Globally, a number of studies have already been conducted to determine risks and protective factors associated with sexual activity among school-going adolescents [11, 22, 39–41]. These and others have shown that poor knowledge about sexuality and STIs, substance use, peer pressure, adolescent curiosity, poverty, poor parental supervision, and globalization are strongly associated with adolescent risky sexual activity [25, 28, 31, 33, 38–40, 42]. Yet, religiosity, having close friends, peer support, parental supervision, parental connectedness, parental bonding, and formal and parental sex education, including abstinence, can play a protective role to decrease risky sexual behaviors [17, 18, 27, 38, 40].…”