Predictors of primary and secondary sexual abstinence among never-married youth in urban poor Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Background: Sexual abstinence is a key component of the strategy to address unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and HIV among youth in sub-Sahara Africa. But contextual pressures make abstaining from sex a formidable task for urban poor youth in the sub-region. Nevertheless, some youth in these settings still manage to resist the pressure to initiate sex early, while others choose abstinence after an initial sexual debut. Few studies in the sub-region have examined sexual abstinence among urban poor youth. We therefore examined the factors that predict primary and secondary sexual abstinence among youth in urban poor Accra. The findings highlight the protective factors associated with sexual intercourse and should help to address the needs of youth at risk of unprotected sex. Methods: The study analysed pooled data from two rounds of the Urban Health and Poverty Survey. The surveys analysed were conducted in 2011 and 2013. The analysis was restricted to unmarried youth between age 20 and 24 years. The total sample comprised 235 female and male youth. We conducted multinomial logistic regression analysis to examine the predictors of primary and secondary abstinence relative to current sexual intercourse. Results: The results showed that being female, sexual communication with only fathers, sexual communication with only friends and slum residence were negatively associated with primary sexual abstinence. Contrarily, being in school, attaching importance to religion, residing in a household that received social support and sexual communication with both parents were positively associated with primary abstinence. Regarding secondary abstinence, only the sexual communication variables had significant effects. Sexual communication with both parents positively predicted secondary abstinence while communication with fathers-only and friends-only had a negative effect. Conclusion: Sexual abstinence is predicted by factors which range from individual through household factors to the locality of residence. Despite the importance of all the predictors, the study found that sexual communication with both parents was the only factor that predicted a higher likelihood of both primary and secondary sexual abstinence. We therefore recommend sexual communication between parents and youth as a key strategy for promoting sexual abstinence among urban poor youth in Accra, Ghana.

Geospatial Distribution of Family Planning Services in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District, Uganda

“…Lastly, a considerable number (25%) of facilities indicated that they do not provide contraceptives to unmarried adolescents. Failure to provide contraceptives to adolescents worsens their vulnerabilities, a situation that is even worse among those living in informal settlements given their social-economic status ( 50 , 51 ). Because of their comparatively poorer social-economic status, unmarried adolescents living in informal settlements will be more prone to sexual assault and would engage in more risky sexual behavior ( 52 ).…”

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

“…Sexual abstinence among adolescents is highly associated with good sexual communication between adolescents and their parents [42][43]. In our study, rural adolescents who had never had sexual intercourse had higher odds of discussing sexual matters with their parents relative to adolescents who had ever had sex.…”

“…The respondents were also asked about their participation in Adolescent health clubs which are common in the study district. The measurement of the predictor variables was guided by previous studies [36, [37][38][39][40][41][42][43] Data processing and analysis Both descriptive (frequency distribution tables) and inferential statistics (bivariate and multivariate analysis) was used in the analysis. The bivariate analysis examined the association between the outcome and predictor variables.…”

Exploring Perceptions of Elementary School Teachers on the Importance of School-Based Life Skills Education. A Case Study

“…Communication with friends, peer pressure and advertisements of media, etc. have a powerful impact on adolescents and growing children (Alhassan & Dodoo, 2020). The influence of parents in shaping social and moral values and the conventional school curriculum is becoming progressively unable of preparing children capable of the skills, which they needed to face practical life (Shek et al, 2020).…”

“…Life skills education influences some manifestations positively on the academic performance of children. As soon as the pupils or students start to feel that they are being involved in matters of relevance to their personal lives, they contribute more and study more (Alhassan & Dodoo, 2020;Parsons, Hunter, & Warne, 1988). iii.…”