Sexual behaviour of adolescents in Nigeria: cross sectional survey of secondary school students.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether family structure (polygamous or monogamous) is associated with sexual activity among school students in Nigeria.


METHODS
Cross sectional school survey with a two stage, clustered sampling design.


METHODS
4218 students aged 12-21 years attending 39 schools in Plateau state, Nigeria. Responses from 2705 students were included in the analysis.


METHODS
Report of ever having had sexual intercourse. Variables of interest included sexual history, age, sex, religion, family polygamy, educational level of parents, having a dead parent, and sense of connectedness to parents and school.


RESULTS
Overall 909 students (34%) reported ever having had sexual intercourse, and 1119 (41%) reported a polygamous family structure. Sexual activity was more common among students from polygamous families (42% of students) than monogamous families (28%) (chi2=64.23; P<0.0001). Variables independently associated with sexual activity were male sex (adjusted odds ratio 2.52 (95% confidence interval 2.05 to 3.12)), older age (1.62 (1.24 to 2.14)), lower sense of connectedness with parents (1.87 (1.48 to 2.38)), having a dead parent (1.59 (1.27 to 2.00)), family polygamy (1.58 (1.29 to 1.92)), lower sense of connectedness with school (1.25 (1.09 to 1.44)), and lower educational level of parents (1.14 (1.05 to 1.24)). Multistep logistic regression analysis showed that the effect of polygamy on sexual activity was reduced by 27% by whether students were married and 22% by a history of forced sex.


CONCLUSIONS
Secondary school students in Nigeria from a polygamous family structure are more likely to have engaged in sexual activity than students from a monogamous family structure. This effect is partly explained by a higher likelihood of marriage during adolescence and forced sex. Students' sense of connectedness to their parents and school, regardless of family structure, decreases the likelihood of sexual activity, and fostering this sense may help reduce risky sexual behaviour among Nigerian youth.
Slap
Gail B
GB
Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (ML-4000), 3333 Burnet Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3039, United States. gail.slap@cchmc.org
Lot
Lucy
L
Huang
Bin
B
Daniyam
Comfort A
CA
Zink
Therese M
TM
Succop
Paul A
PA
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D003075:Coitus; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006716:Homosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009549:Nigeria; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012423:Rural Health; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012747:Sexual Partners; D014504:Urban Health