The Prevalence and Pattern of Risky Sexual Behaviour among Secondary School Adolescents in Yenagoa Local Government Area, Nigeria

Aim: To determine the prevalence, pattern and socio-demographic factors associated with risky sexual behaviour (RSB) among adolescents in secondary schools in Yenagoa LGA, Bayelsa state. Study Design: A cross-sectional analytical study. Place and duration: Yenagoa Local Government Area in Bayelsa state. The study was conducted in March/April 2021. Methodology: The study utilized self-administered questionnaires among 750 secondary school adolescents selected via multistage sampling. The proportion of adolescents with RSB and the socio-demographic determinants of RSB were analysed using Chi-square test and binary logistic regression with significance level set at p-value=0.05. Results: Of the 739 responses analysed, the prevalence of RSB was 156 (21.1%) and the mean age at sexual debut was 13.42±2.62 years. All sexually exposed adolescents had an early sexual debut, 23.7% had multiple sexual partners, and 98.1% reported inconsistent use of condoms. Transactional sex and sexual intercourse after alcohol/illicit drug use occurred in 56.4% and 15.4% of them, respectively. The predictors of RSB were attending a public school (AOR:2.046, 95%CI:1.243 to 3.368), peer pressure (AOR:10.451, 95%CI:6.460 to 16.909), difficulty in communicating with mother (AOR:2.050, 95%CI:1.203 to 3.493) and low maternal education (primary:AOR:2.834, 95%CI:1.300 to 6.181; and secondary: AOR:2.067, 95%CI:1.139 to 3.753). However, age below 18years (10-13years: AOR:0.194, 95%CI:0.051 to 0.741 and 14-17years: AOR:0.259, 95% CI:0.081 to 0.832) was protective of RSB. Conclusion: RSB is high among adolescents attending secondary schools in Yenagoa. Sex education, peer-based programmes and parent-adolescent communications should be encouraged to reduce the prevalence of RSB among adolescents.