Union Formation and Onset of Sex among Young Girls in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State

Abstract

Analysis of marriage intentions and sexual experiences of young women are necessary in drawing up state-level and countrywide policies that address young women’s sexual health needs. This paper draws on results of a study utilizing structured questionnaires and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) to examine marriage and sexual debut among young girls in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State. A total of 862 questionnaires were administered among young women within the age of 11 and 25 years. The information from the questionnaire was analysed using the Chi-square (X2) test to assess bivariate association between ever had sex and age at first sex and some socio-demographic characteristics of young girls. The study hypothesised that ever had sex, age at first sexual encounter and age at marriage do not differ by some sociodemographic characteristics of women. The results of the analysis revealed that the majority (70%) of the respondents have ever had sex and that 9.6% have ever married. The X2 test revealed that there are significant relationships between ever had sex and age of respondents (X2, df=4, p=0.001)), marital status (X2, df=4, p=0.001) and level of education (X2, df=6, p=0.001). There was, however, no statistical differences between ever had sex and religion and residence. The paper recommended a multifaceted programme to address the needs of young girls in Kachia LGA.