Akumiah Prince Osei, Suglo Joseph Ngmenesegre, Sebire Silas Yenbon
Department of Physician Assistantship, Presbyterian University College, Abetifi, Ghana.
Department of Nursing, Presbyterian University College, Abetifi, Ghana.
Niger Med J. 2020 Jul-Aug;61(4):189-195. doi: 10.4103/nmj.NMJ_100_20. Epub 2020 Aug 4.
Risky sexual behaviors (RSBs) are behaviors that could result in unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. These behaviors are often initiated during adolescence, and the frequency of engagement in such behaviors rises with increasing age during the teenage years. It has been asserted that exposures to sexual materials early in life could lead to early sex debut among adolescents.
The objective of this study was to determine the early life exposures contributing to RSBs among basic school pupils in the Twifo Praso District of Ghana.
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Three hundred and sixty basic school pupils were selected by simple random sampling technique. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.
The study found that 64.4% of the respondents have had sexual intercourse at a mean age of 13.7 years. Respondents from polygamous homes were more likely to engage in earlier sexual debut than those from monogamous home ( = 0.0343, = 0.003). Furthermore, having a high number of friends who have had sex was associated with an early sexual debut ( = 0.720, = 0.000).
Adolescents are initiating sexual intercourse very early in life and this calls for customized reproductive health promotion activities aimed at minimizing risky sexual behaviors. Further studies on how parent-child sexual communication could delay sexual debut are recommended.
危险的性行为（RSBs）是可能导致意外怀孕和性传播感染的行为。这些行为通常在青春期开始，在青少年时期，此类行为的参与频率会随着年龄增长而上升。有人断言，早年接触性相关材料可能导致青少年过早开始性行为。
本研究的目的是确定导致加纳Twifo Praso区小学生出现危险的性行为的早年接触因素。
采用结构化问卷进行描述性横断面研究。通过简单随机抽样技术选取了360名小学生。使用SPSS 20版对数据进行分析。
研究发现，64.4%的受访者在平均年龄13.7岁时就有过性行为。来自多配偶家庭的受访者比来自单配偶家庭的受访者更有可能过早开始性行为（ = 0.0343， = 0.003）。此外，有大量有过性行为的朋友与过早开始性行为有关（ = 0.720， = 0.000）。
青少年在生命早期就开始性行为，这需要开展定制化的生殖健康促进活动，以尽量减少危险的性行为。建议进一步研究亲子性沟通如何能够推迟性行为开始时间。
