Inequalities in Risky Sexual Behaviour and Aggregation of Health Damaging Behaviours Among Sexually Experienced Ghanaian Youth

Inequalities in risky sexual behaviour and aggregation of health damaging behaviours among sexually experienced Ghanaian youth

Running Heading: Risk taking among sexually experienced youth

Doku David, PhD¹*

1School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, FI-33014 University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland

 

Abstract

Inequalities in risky sexual behaviours and how they relate to several substance uses among Ghanaian youth were investigated. An in-school cross-sectional representative survey was conducted among 12-18-year- old youth in Ghana in 2008 (N=1165, response rate =90%). Logistic regression was used data analyses. Of all adolescents, 25% (28% boys and 23% girls) were sexually experienced. Among the sexually experienced, 31% had multiple sexual partners and 39% had sexual intercourse more than once. Low parental education and occupation, low material affluence status, living in non-nuclear family all increased the likelihood of sexual debut. However only living in non-nuclear family (OR=1.6, CI 1.1-2.2) compared to living in nuclear family and low material affluence (OR=2.2, CI 1.4-2.2) compared to high were independently associated with sexual debut. In addition, smoking (OR=3.5, CI 2.1-5.8), tawa use (OR=3.8, CI 2.1-6.8), drunkenness (OR=2.1, CI 1.4-3.2), marijuana use (OR=4.8, CI 2.3-9.7) and other drug use (OR=2.2, CI 1.1-4.6) were associated with sexual debut. Similarly, all substance uses except tawa use increased the probability of having multiple sexual partners. Public health interventions should take into account the likelihood of substance use among sexually experienced adolescents.

Keywords: Sexual behaviour; adolescents; aggregation of risky behaviours; socioeconomic status