Age at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partnerships among Adolescents in Nigeria: An Assessment of the Mediating Role of the Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections
Adolescents in Nigeria are at risk of plethora of ills arising from risky sexual behavior in the form of multiple sexual partnerships (MSP). Despite evidence linking MSPs to age at sexual debut, there is a dearth of research among adolescents and the mediating role of the knowledge of STIs has been...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Adolescents |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7051/1/4/32 |
| _version_ | 1797507050292379648 |
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| author | Oluwatobi Abel Alawode Hassan Ogunwemimo Miracle-Eunice Bolorunduro Abayomi Folorunsho Awoleye |
| author_facet | Oluwatobi Abel Alawode Hassan Ogunwemimo Miracle-Eunice Bolorunduro Abayomi Folorunsho Awoleye |
| author_sort | Oluwatobi Abel Alawode |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Adolescents in Nigeria are at risk of plethora of ills arising from risky sexual behavior in the form of multiple sexual partnerships (MSP). Despite evidence linking MSPs to age at sexual debut, there is a dearth of research among adolescents and the mediating role of the knowledge of STIs has been ignored. Hence, we examined the association between age at sexual debut and MSP and the mediating role of the knowledge of STIs in the relationship among adolescents. We utilized data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (<i>n</i> = 3215), employing Chi square test of association and binary logistic regression to address the study objectives. We established strong inverse relationship between age at sexual debut and MSP among adolescents in Nigeria and additionally, found that its interaction with knowledge of HIV and STIs significantly reduced adolescents’ engagement in MSP, i.e., adolescents who first had sex in later years (15+ years) were significantly less likely to have multiple sexual partners compared to adolescents who had early sexual debut (≤14 years). Early, age-appropriate, continuous, and improved awareness campaigns and reproductive health services and interventions for this population subgroup are recommended. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:41:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-06f7d5462722435fa3f3ebe784c3bc86 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-7051 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:41:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Adolescents |
| spelling | doaj.art-06f7d5462722435fa3f3ebe784c3bc862023-11-23T03:17:41ZengMDPI AGAdolescents2673-70512021-10-011442143210.3390/adolescents1040032Age at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partnerships among Adolescents in Nigeria: An Assessment of the Mediating Role of the Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted InfectionsOluwatobi Abel Alawode0Hassan Ogunwemimo1Miracle-Eunice Bolorunduro2Abayomi Folorunsho Awoleye3Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USADepartment of Demography & Social Statistics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220282, Osun State, NigeriaDepartment of Sociology, Criminology and Security Studies, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko 342111, Ondo State, NigeriaDepartment of Demography & Social Statistics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife 220282, Osun State, NigeriaAdolescents in Nigeria are at risk of plethora of ills arising from risky sexual behavior in the form of multiple sexual partnerships (MSP). Despite evidence linking MSPs to age at sexual debut, there is a dearth of research among adolescents and the mediating role of the knowledge of STIs has been ignored. Hence, we examined the association between age at sexual debut and MSP and the mediating role of the knowledge of STIs in the relationship among adolescents. We utilized data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (<i>n</i> = 3215), employing Chi square test of association and binary logistic regression to address the study objectives. We established strong inverse relationship between age at sexual debut and MSP among adolescents in Nigeria and additionally, found that its interaction with knowledge of HIV and STIs significantly reduced adolescents’ engagement in MSP, i.e., adolescents who first had sex in later years (15+ years) were significantly less likely to have multiple sexual partners compared to adolescents who had early sexual debut (≤14 years). Early, age-appropriate, continuous, and improved awareness campaigns and reproductive health services and interventions for this population subgroup are recommended.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7051/1/4/32adolescentsage at sexual debutmultiple sexual partnershipHIV & STIs |
| spellingShingle | Oluwatobi Abel Alawode Hassan Ogunwemimo Miracle-Eunice Bolorunduro Abayomi Folorunsho Awoleye Age at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partnerships among Adolescents in Nigeria: An Assessment of the Mediating Role of the Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections Adolescents adolescents age at sexual debut multiple sexual partnership HIV & STIs |
| title | Age at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partnerships among Adolescents in Nigeria: An Assessment of the Mediating Role of the Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections |
| title_full | Age at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partnerships among Adolescents in Nigeria: An Assessment of the Mediating Role of the Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections |
| title_fullStr | Age at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partnerships among Adolescents in Nigeria: An Assessment of the Mediating Role of the Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections |
| title_full_unstemmed | Age at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partnerships among Adolescents in Nigeria: An Assessment of the Mediating Role of the Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections |
| title_short | Age at Sexual Debut and Multiple Sexual Partnerships among Adolescents in Nigeria: An Assessment of the Mediating Role of the Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections |
| title_sort | age at sexual debut and multiple sexual partnerships among adolescents in nigeria an assessment of the mediating role of the knowledge of sexually transmitted infections |
| topic | adolescents age at sexual debut multiple sexual partnership HIV & STIs |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7051/1/4/32 |
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