Protective sexual behaviours among young adults in Nigeria: influence of family support and living with both parents

Anthony Idowu Ajayi,Sylvester Reuben Okeke

doi:10.1186/s12889-019-7310-3

Abstract

BackgroundMany studies have focused on risky sexual behaviour among adolescents and young adults; however, literature on protective sexual practices among this age cohort is still evolving. Since young adults are disproportionately burdened by sexually transmissible infections, including HIV, understanding factors that influence protective sexual behaviour among the age group is crucial in developing age-appropriate interventions. Drawing from a cross-sectional survey conducted among adolescents and young adults in two Nigerian universities, we examined gender differences in protective sexual behaviours and the influence of family support and living with both parents on these behaviours.MethodsA total of 800 male and female university students in two Nigerian universities were recruited using stratified random sampling between February and April 2018. Analysis was, however, based on 599 participants aged between 15 and 24 . Adjusted and unadjusted multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the influence of family support, and living with both parents on protective sexual behaviours at a 95% confidence interval.ResultsFindings show that the largest proportion of our participants engaged in protective sexual behaviours. We found no gender differences in protective sexual behaviours, including sexual abstinence, consistent condom use, and sexual fidelity. Family support and living with both parents were positively associated with protective sexual behaviours among adolescents and young adults.ConclusionThis study found that a majority of adolescents and young adults in Nigerian Universities engage in protective sexual behaviours. Adequate family support and living with both parents are positively associated with protective sexual behaviours. The study however revealed that about one-fifth of our participants engaged in high-risk sexual behaviour. This suggests a need for behavioural change interventions, provision of sexual health services and empowerment of students who receive inadequate family support.

Highlights

Many studies have focused on risky sexual behaviour among adolescents and young adults; literature on protective sexual practices among this age cohort is still evolving
Over one-fifth of the participants had never engaged in sex, while 18.2% of them abstained from sex in the past year
Building on existing research that departs from the binary view of sexual behaviours [1], this study examined the practice of protective sexual behaviours of adolescents and young adults using data obtained from two Nigerian universities

Summary

Introduction

Many studies have focused on risky sexual behaviour among adolescents and young adults; literature on protective sexual practices among this age cohort is still evolving. Protective sexual behaviour is conceptualized in this study as any behaviours targeted at preventing sexually transmissible infections (STIs) or unplanned pregnancies by sexually active or inactive individuals. These behaviours include abstinence from sex, sexual fidelity and consistent condom use. Most studies on the sexual behaviour of adolescents and young adults tend to characterise condomless sex and multiple sexual relationships as risky sexual behaviour [2,3,4,5,6]. Not all adolescents or young adults who engage in unprotected sex could be said to involve in high-risk sexual behaviour. Our view of sexual behaviour as a continuum, departs from the binary view of sexual behaviour, which is common in sexual health literature

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion