TITLE:
Associated Factors with Early Sexual Intercourse among In-School Adolescents in Brazzaville
AUTHORS:
Aymar Pierre Gildas Oko, Dumez Ngoma, Judicaël Kambourou, Eryx Darius Mbou Essie, Neli Yvette Ngakengni, Lynda Tchidjo Ngamo, Georges Marius Moyen
KEYWORDS:
Associated Factors, Early Sex, Adolescents, Brazzaville
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.14 No.5,
September
20,
2024
ABSTRACT: Background: Early sexual intercourse (ESI) is a global public health problem. In Congo, associated factors with ESI have been under-studied. Objective: To analyse factors associated with early sexual intercourse among in-school adolescents in Brazzaville. Method: A cross-sectional analytic study with three-stage random sampling was carried out from March 2 to June 2, 2022 in Brazzaville secondary and high schools. Adolescents in the selected schools were interviewed about their sexual and social behaviour, and their family and school environment. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with ESI. The significance level of the p-value was set at 5% and the confidence interval at 95%. Results: Of a total of 1100 adolescents surveyed, 800 (72.7%) had ESI, 98% of them were female. The main reason for early initiation of sexual intercourse was curiosity (81.8%). Non-use of condoms and multiple sexual partnerships were noted respectively in 98.7% and 68.7% of adolescents who had experienced ESI. Female gender (p Conclusion: The prevalence of ESI is high, and the factors identified in this study may help to reduce it.