The interactive effect of gender, residence, and socioeconomic status on early sexual debut among sexually active young adults in Ghana

Asante, Kwaku Oppong; Nketiah‐Amponsah, Edward; Andoh–Arthur, Johnny; Ampaw, Samuel

doi:10.1007/s10389-020-01285-0

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Female children had higher odds of initiating sex early than male children. This finding supports earlier studies, which found females are more likely to initiate sex early than males [4,21,38]. Factors driving this phenomenon include early marriage, transactional sex, poverty and coercive sex [39,40].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Although there are studies on early sexual debut in Ghana, these studies have some limitations. First, these studies have focused on the youth [20,21] and women, especially those in their reproductive ages [22,23]. Second, these studies have emphasised the correlates of early sexual debut [20][21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, these studies have focused on the youth [20,21] and women, especially those in their reproductive ages [22,23]. Second, these studies have emphasised the correlates of early sexual debut [20][21][22][23]. For instance, Alhassan et al 's [23] study among Ghanaian women aged 15-49 found that age, education, place of residence, household wealth, marital status, substance and alcohol use, contraceptive use, heard of HIV and Internet use, among others were significant correlates of early sexual debut.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“You cannot stay with one person once you begin having sex at a young age”: the prevalence, correlates and effects of early sexual debut among children in Ghana

Kyei-Arthur,

Agyekum,

Kyei-Gyamfi

2024

Reprod Health

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Background Children’s initiation of early sex has several negative implications on their sexual and reproductive health, growth and development. In Ghana, few studies on early sexual debut have focused on adolescents. Therefore, this study examined the prevalence, causes, correlates and effects of early sexual debut among children aged 8 to 17 in Ghana using secondary data from the Department of Children of the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection. Methods A convergent parallel mixed-method approach guided the study. Descriptive statistics and multivariable binary logistic regression were used to analyse the quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. Results The study found that the prevalence of early sexual debut among children was 13.2%, which is more predominant among female children. The main causes of early sexual debut include engaging in sex after watching pornography, self-desire to have sex, and being influenced by alcohol consumption. Also, age, sex, education, marital status, religion, ecological zone, living arrangements, and access to the Internet were significant correlates of early sexual debut. Early sexual debut increases children’s risk of unwanted pregnancy, which leads to the termination of children’s education or induced abortion. Also, early sexual debut had adverse impacts on the wellbeing of pregnant children and increased children’s risk of multiple lifetime sexual partners. Conclusions This study demonstrated that socio-demographic characteristics of children (e.g., age, sex, education, and marital status) were significant correlates of early sexual debut. Policymakers need to design appropriate interventions, considering the socio-demographic characteristics of children, to curb its occurrence in Ghana.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“You cannot stay with one person once you begin having sex at a young age”: the prevalence, correlates and effects of early sexual debut among children in Ghana

Kyei-Arthur,

Agyekum,

Kyei-Gyamfi

2024

Reprod Health

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“…Further exploration of these factors indicated that young people from rich households residing in urban areas are less likely to initiate early debut. However, an interactive effect showed that female youth residing in urban areas from rich households were more likely to initiate early debut (17). The extent to which socio-demographic characteristics influence consistent condom use among these sexually active young people remains unexplored within the Ghanaian context.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consistent condom use among sexually active young adults in Ghana: an analysis of prevalence and associated factors

Oppong Asante,

Ampaw,

Gyan

2023

Glob Health Promot

Self Cite

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Consistent and proper condom use offers a safer, economically cheap and practically effective means of preventing HIV infection. Using the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey with a sample of 2779 sexually active youth (males = 682 and females = 2,097) in the age range 15–24, this study explored the prevalence of, and factors associated with consistent condom use among sexually active young adults in Ghana. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyse the data. Our results showed that approximately 11% of the respondents reported consistent condom use in their previous sexual activity. Females were more likely than males to have used a condom consistently. The logistic regression results showed that females who had tested for HIV were less likely to use a condom consistently. However, those who have obtained family planning information from print media and those from the northern part of Ghana were more likely to practise consistent condom use. Furthermore, males who professed the Traditional African religion were less likely to use a condom consistently. In contrast, males in the rich wealth category were more likely to use a condom consistently. These findings underscore the need for behavioural change campaigns targeting young adults, particularly those who are sexually active, to encourage consistent condom use. These interventions should target young adults with less family planning knowledge, those who know their HIV status and those who profess the Traditional African religion.

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HIV Testing among sexually active Ghanaians: an examination of the rural-urban correlates

et al. 2022

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The interactive effect of gender, residence, and socioeconomic status on early sexual debut among sexually active young adults in Ghana

Cited by 3 publications

References 31 publications

“You cannot stay with one person once you begin having sex at a young age”: the prevalence, correlates and effects of early sexual debut among children in Ghana

“You cannot stay with one person once you begin having sex at a young age”: the prevalence, correlates and effects of early sexual debut among children in Ghana

Consistent condom use among sexually active young adults in Ghana: an analysis of prevalence and associated factors

HIV Testing among sexually active Ghanaians: an examination of the rural-urban correlates

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