Dawud, Abdu (2003) Perception of the Risks of Sexual Activities among Out-of-School Adolescents in South Gondar Administrative Zone, Amhara Region. Masters thesis, Addis Ababa University.
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Abstract
The vast majority of sexual intercourses during adolescence are unprotected, and therefore the risk of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and STIs including HIV/AIDS is very high for adolescents. Although various surveys have been made to study the sexual behavior of youth in Ethiopia, few studies considered the problem of out-of-school and rural adolescents. This cross sectional comparative survey was carried out to assess and compare the level of sexual behavior and perception of the risks of sexual activities among urban and rural out-of-school adolescents in South Gondar Administrative Zone, the Amhara Region. A total of 763 out-of-school adolescents were interviewed and four focus group discussions aggregated by sex and residences were conducted. More than 90% of adolescents in this study were aware of HIV/AIDS. About 42% of the respondents were sexually active. Seventy-six (23.3%) of the sexually active respondents claimed to have more than one sexual partners. About 25% of sexually active male adolescents visited female commercial sex workers of which only 36 % reported ever using condom and none of them reported consistent condom use during commercial sex. Despite this all, participants’ attitude towards perceiving themselves as susceptible to HIV infection indicated that only 11 (5.3%) of the rural and 13 (11.2%) of the urban sexually active adolescents were aware of being engaged in high risk sexual practices. Risk perception to HIV infection was higher in urban adolescents [3.577(1.028,12.449)] than in rural. Marital status of respondents, their educational status, and reported number of sexual partners were also associated to their risk perception. The result of the focus group discussion increased our understanding how the socio-economic and cultural environment influence adolescents’ sexual behavior, and why adolescents are involved with unsafe sexual practices even when they know the risks. Enabling the community to understand adolescents’ sexuality, providing accurate information, and promoting adolescent friendly sexual and reproductive health are essential, even when adolescents are aware of the risks of sexual activities.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine |
| Divisions: | Africana |
| Depositing User: | Vincent Mpoza |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Oct 2018 09:09 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Oct 2018 09:09 |
| URI: | http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/5743 |
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