Community social capital on the timing of sexual debut and teen birth in Nicaragua: a multilevel approach

Bomar Mendez Rojas,Chuan-Yu Chen,Patrick Opiyo Owili,Idrissa Beogo,Oluwafunmilade Adesanya

doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3666-9

Abstract

BackgroundCommunity attributes have been gradually recognized as critical determinants shaping sexual behaviors in young population; nevertheless, most of the published studies were conducted in high income countries. The study aims to examine the association between community social capital with the time to sexual onset and to first birth in Central America.MethodsBuilding upon the 2011/12 Demographic and Health Survey conducted in Nicaragua, we identified a sample of 2766 community-dwelling female adolescents aged 15 to 19 years. Multilevel survival analyses were performed to estimate the risks linked with three domains of community social capital (i.e., norms, resource and social network).ResultsHigher prevalence of female sexual debut (norms) and higher proportion of secondary school or higher education (resource) in the community are associated with an earlier age of sexual debut by 47 % (p < 0.05) and 16 %, respectively (p < 0.001). Living in a community with a high proportion of females having a child increases the hazard of teen birth (p < 0.001) and resource is negatively associated with teen childbearing (p < 0.05). Residential stability and community religious composition (social network) were not linked with teen-onset sex and birth.ConclusionsThe norm and resource aspects of social capital appeared differentially associated with adolescent sexual and reproductive behaviors. Interventions aiming to tackle unfavorable sexual and reproductive outcomes in young people should be devised and implemented with integration of social process.

Highlights

Community attributes have been gradually recognized as critical determinants shaping sexual behaviors in young population; most of the published studies were conducted in high income countries
We found that a higher percentage of female-onset sexual debut and of residents with higher education may reduce the hazard to have the first birth by 38 % and 11 %, respectively; whereas a higher percentage of females having a child may elevate the hazard by 76 %
On the basis of population-based survey in Central America, our results demonstrated that social capital, manifested in the social norm and resource perspectives, may play an important role in shaping teenage

Summary

Introduction

Community attributes have been gradually recognized as critical determinants shaping sexual behaviors in young population; most of the published studies were conducted in high income countries. The study aims to examine the association between community social capital with the time to sexual onset and to first birth in Central America. The connection of teen births with an array of adverse outcomes, such as early neonatal death, low birth weight, anemia, postpartum hemorrhage, puerperal endometritis and high caesarean section rate, has been consistently documented [1,2,3,4]. The fertility rate was estimated 89 per 1000 girls aged 15 to 19 years in 2014—the second highest rate in Latin America [5] and teenage girls account for approximately 25 % of births and about half of those births are unintended [6].

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Conclusion