Determinants of exposure to risky sexual behaviour among in-school young people (15-24) in Uganda: A case of Adjumani District

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess determinants of exposure to risky sexual behavior among in-school young people (15-24) in Adjumani district, West Nile, Uganda. The assessment focused on young people’s socio-demographic and parent/guardian characteristics as well as school, peer influence and behavior factors. The analysis was undertaken using primary data based on a sample of 657 in-school sexually active young people using frequency distributions and a logistic regression. In the results, about five-in-every ten (55.5%) young people did not consistently use condoms while slightly less than three-in-every ten (28%) had multiple sexual partners in the past one year prior to the study. During the multivariate analysis, inconsistent condom use was found to be more likely among the female young people (OR =2.12) and less likely among young people who had their first sex at later years of 16-23 (OR = 0.59). Further, young people whose parents/guardians were not employed were less likely to consistently use condoms (OR = 0.61). On the other hand, multiple sexual partners was more likely among young people who watched pornographic videos/films (OR = 2.04) and those who smoked cigarettes (OR =5.30); young people who lived with their guardians were less likely to have multiple sexual partners compared to those who lived with their fathers only (OR = 0.30). These findings point to the need to: (i) review the school health policy to allow sex education to be formally taught in primary and secondary education levels; (ii) promote use of female condoms while building negotiation powers for their use especially among the female adolescents; (iv) promote measures that restrict exposure to risky behaviours among adolescents e.g. access to pornographic sites and use of drugs should be restricted