Lowe Mat, Mendez Rojas Bomar
Society for the Study of Women's Health (SSWH), The Gambia.
Pan American Health Organization, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Afr J Reprod Health. 2021 Jun;25(3):78-82. doi: 10.29063/ajrh2021/v25i3.9.
Whether age at sexual debut is influenced by adolescents' ethnicity has not been examined in the Gambia. The aim of this study was to assess ethnic differences in age at sexual debut among girls in 24 rural Gambian settlements. A cross-sectional household survey of 181 respondents aged (10-19 years) was conducted among girls belonging to the three main ethnic groups (Mandinka, Fula and Wolof). Descriptive statistics and ordinal logistic regression were used to show the onset of sexual intercourse and describe the patterns of sexual debut by ethnic group among respondents. All the analyses were conducted in Stata 12.0. The study findings showed that the lowest median age at sexual debut is among Mandinka and Wolof girls (14 years). The results of ordinal logistic regression indicate that girls in the Mandinka and Wolof ethnic groups are approximately 20% less likely to initiate sex at an early age than girls in the Fula ethnic group. On the other hand, girls with more than 1 year of education are less likely to initiate sex at an early age than those with less than 1 year of education. It was also found that girls who live with their mothers are 71% less likely to have an early sexual debut than those who do not. These findings suggest ethnic differences in age at sexual debut among girls in the Gambia. The findings also highlight the importance of female education and living with a mother in reducing the chances of early sexual debut among adolescent girls.
在冈比亚，首次性行为的年龄是否受青少年种族的影响尚未得到研究。本研究的目的是评估冈比亚24个农村定居点女孩首次性行为年龄的种族差异。对属于三个主要种族群体（曼丁哥族、富拉族和沃洛夫族）的181名年龄在10至19岁之间的女孩进行了横断面家庭调查。使用描述性统计和有序逻辑回归来显示性交的开始情况，并按种族群体描述受访者首次性行为的模式。所有分析均在Stata 12.0中进行。研究结果表明，曼丁哥族和沃洛夫族女孩首次性行为的最低中位年龄为14岁。有序逻辑回归结果表明，曼丁哥族和沃洛夫族女孩在早年开始性行为的可能性比富拉族女孩低约20%。另一方面，接受过一年以上教育的女孩比接受教育不到一年的女孩在早年开始性行为的可能性更小。研究还发现，与母亲同住的女孩首次性行为过早的可能性比不同住的女孩低71%。这些发现表明冈比亚女孩首次性行为年龄存在种族差异。研究结果还凸显了女性教育以及与母亲同住对于减少少女过早发生性行为几率的重要性。
