Social Factors Associated with Teenage Sexual Behavior: A Risk Factor for STI/HIV Among Female Adolescents in a Rural Community in Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Adolescents within the ages of 10 to 19 years sustain the most negative health outcomes from sexual behavior compare to any other age group. The aim of the study was to assess the sexual activity among teenage girls and to determine the personal and parental characteristics associated with teenage sexual behavior. A community based cross sectional studies was carried out among teenage girls who were selected through a simple random sampling technique and data was collected using a semi-structured interviewer administered questionnaire after obtaining consent from both the parents and the teenage girls. Not being in school and not staying with one’s parents had a significant relationship with having sexual intercourse (P<0.0001), sexual intercourse was seen to be more common among teenagers of single parent, of polygamous family (83.3% and 61.5%) and those whose father had no formal education(66.7%) and were unskilled workers(52.7%). It was concluded from this study that most teenagers have initiated sexual intercourse and being in school, not staying with ones parents and type of family born into were factors that contributed to the exposure to sexual intercourse in addition to educational level and occupation of the parents.