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Leung J, Lim C, Belete H, Mcclure-Thomas C, Foo S, Chan GCK. Regional and Country Prevalence Estimates of Unsafe Sex Among Adolescents in 68 Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2024:10.1007/s10508-024-02861-1. [PMID: 38637452 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-024-02861-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Prioritizing adolescent health is a public health priority to achieve the sustainable development goals, including reducing the risk of unsafe sex. Data on unsafe sex have remained scarce among adolescents in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). To estimate the prevalence of unsafe sex in LMICs, we conducted secondary data analysis on the Global School-based Student Health Surveys among 244,863 students aged 13-17 years from 68 countries across five World Health Organization regions. The overall prevalence of ever had sex was 16.2%. The highest to lowest regional prevalence estimation of ever had sex was 30.5% (28.9-32.1) in the Americas, 28.6% (26.8-30.4) in Africa, 10.9% (9.2-12.6) in the Eastern Mediterranean, 9.6% (8.8-10.5) in South-East Asia, and 8.0% (6.8-9.1) in the Western Pacific. The highest prevalence of sexual intercourse before age 14 and practicing sexual intercourse without condom use were 36.5% (34.5-38.5) and 32.2% (30.1-34.3) in Africa, respectively. Findings suggest that current interventions are inadequate in promoting the uptake of safe sexual behaviors and an urgent intervention is needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janni Leung
- Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, 31 Upland Road, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia
| | - Carmen Lim
- Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, 31 Upland Road, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia
| | - Habte Belete
- Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, 31 Upland Road, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia.
- Department of Psychiatry, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
| | - Caitlin Mcclure-Thomas
- Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, 31 Upland Road, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia
| | - Shaun Foo
- Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, 31 Upland Road, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia
| | - Gary Chung Kai Chan
- Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research, The University of Queensland, 31 Upland Road, St. Lucia, QLD, 4067, Australia
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Rogers K, Ranganathan M, Kajula L, Lorraine Collins R, Livingston JA, Palermo T. The influence of gender-equitable attitudes on sexual behaviour among unmarried adolescents in rural Tanzania: a longitudinal study. Sex Reprod Health Matters 2023; 31:2260169. [PMID: 37850724 PMCID: PMC10586071 DOI: 10.1080/26410397.2023.2260169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
PLAIN LANGUAGE STATEMENT Gender norms that centre men and disadvantage women create gender inequality, which can lead to risky sexual behaviour. This study examined how both community and individual attitudes toward gender norms influenced risky sexual behaviour in adolescents, and whether that influence was different between males and females. We found that higher gender-equitable attitudes were linked to increased odds of HIV testing in the last 12 months, and decreased odds of engaging in a sexual relationship with a much older partner. Individual high gender-equitable attitudes among girls were also linked to higher odds of them using condoms and contraceptives. Gender-equitable attitudes did not seem to influence early sexual debut, engagement in transactional sex, having multiple sexual partners at the same time, or the number of sexual partners a participant had in the last 12 months. Based on these findings, programming designed to increase gender-equitable attitudes might be helpful in increasing HIV testing and condom and contraceptive use, but it needs to involve the entire community, not just individual boys and girls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate Rogers
- PhD Candidate, Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, SUNY, 330 Kimball Tower, Buffalo, NY14212, USA
| | - Meghna Ranganathan
- Assistant Professor, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Lusajo Kajula
- Independent Consultant, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
| | - R. Lorraine Collins
- Associate Dean for Research, Department of Community Health and Health Behavior, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | | | - Tia Palermo
- Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
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Wyszomirska J, Bąk-Sosnowska M. Time Goes Back-Time Perspective in Polish Men with Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder and Risky Sexual Behavior. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2023; 20:4954. [PMID: 36981863 PMCID: PMC10048791 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20064954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Many relationships between time perspective and a propensity to engage in risky behaviors or developing addictions have been demonstrated. The aim of our study was to determine the differences in intensity of individual time perspectives in people with compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) and risky sexual behavior (RSB). The analysis includes 425 men: 98 CSBD (age M = 37.99 years), 63 RSB (age M = 35.70 years), 264 without CSBD and RSB features constituting the control group (age M = 35.08 years). We used the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory, the Sexual Addiction Screening Test-Revised, the Risky Sexual Behavior Scale and a self-constructed survey. The comparative analysis showed a higher intensity of past-negative (p = 0.040), a lower of past-positive (p < 0.001) and a present-fatalistic (p = 0.040) outlook in the CSBD group compared to the control group. Compared to the participants with RSB, the CSBD group was characterized by a higher intensity of past-negative (p = 0.010), a lower of past-positive (p = 0.004) and a present-hedonistic perspective (p = 0.014). The RSB group also achieved higher results from the present-hedonistic perspective (p = 0.046) compared to the control group. The CSBD patients indicate a stronger tendency to focus on negative past compared to non-CSBD men, both taking and not taking RSB. The time perspective profiles of RSB men are similar to those who do not engage in RSB. The distinguishing feature of men with RSB without CSBD is a greater ability to enjoy current experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Wyszomirska
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences in Katowice, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, 40-752 Katowice, Poland
| | - Monika Bąk-Sosnowska
- Center for Psychosomatics and Preventive Healthcare, WSB University in Dąbrowa Górnicza, 41-300 Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland
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Pengpid S, Peltzer K. Prevalence and Correlates of Sexual Risk Behavior among School-Going Adolescents in Four Caribbean Countries. Behav Sci (Basel) 2020; 10:bs10110166. [PMID: 33138003 PMCID: PMC7692478 DOI: 10.3390/bs10110166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to assess the prevalence and correlates of sexual risk behaviors among adolescents in the Caribbean. Nationally representative cross-sectional data were analyzed from 9143 adolescents (15 years = median age) that took part in the 2016 Dominican Republic, 2016 Suriname, 2017 Jamaica, and 2017 Trinidad and Tobago Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS). The results indicate that 41.4% of the students had ever had sex, ranging from 26.4% in Trinidad and Tobago to 48.1% in Jamaica. Among the sexually active, 58.8% had had ≥2 sexual partners; 58.6% had had an early sexual debut (≤14 years); 41.9% had not used birth control the last time they had sex; 28.4% had not used a condom the last time they had sex; and, of the whole sample, 31.9% had engaged in two or more (multiple) sexual risk behaviors, ranging from 16.5% in Trinidad and Tobago to 40.3% in Jamaica. In an adjusted logistic regression analysis, substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis), psychological distress, frequent soft drink intake, participation in physical fighting, school truancy, older age, and male sex were associated with single and/or multiple sexual risk behaviors. A large number of adolescents in the Caribbean reported sexual risk behaviors, emphasizing the need for intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supa Pengpid
- ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Phutthamonthon, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand;
- Department of Research Administration and Development, University of Limpopo, Turfloop 0727, South Africa
| | - Karl Peltzer
- Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
- Correspondence:
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