An Assessment Of Premarital Sexual Practice And Factors Contributing To Premarital Sex Among High School Adolescents In Nekemte Town Ewollega Zone Oromia Regional State

Back ground. In the era of HIV/AIDS pandemic, understanding the nature ofrnadolescents’ sexual behaviors is critical in developing an effective preventivernstrategy.rnObjectives The purpose of this study were to assess the prevalence of premaritalrnsexual practice, factors contributing to premarital sex and condom utilizationrnamong high school adolescents.rnMethodology: A cross-sectional study (both quantitative and qualitative) wasrnconducted on 722 adolescents using a pre tested questionnaires from January tornApril 2006, among 2 high schools. in Nekemte town, east Wollega zone, west oromiarnregional state.rnResult. Of 676, study population 21.4% (70.3% of males and 29, 7% ofrnfemales).reported having practiced premarital sexual intercourse. The mean age atrnfirst sexual intercourse was 16.2+1.5 years and 15.18+1.7 years for males andrnfemales, respectively.rnFrom those sexually active adolescents 5.8% of males and 13.3% of females reportedrnto having had sexual intercourse before the age of 14 years (10-14). However, 57.2%rn(69.5% of males and 56.6% of females) had their first sexual intercourse between thernage of 15 and 17 years.rnThe reasons cited for the initiation of the first sexual intercourse were fall in lovern(34.9%), had desire (29.5%), rape (2.7%), peer pressure (16.8%), to get money/giftsrn(7.4%) and were drunk (3.4%).rnIn the past 12 months, 74.2% of the adolescents reported to ever use condom. Butrnonly about half (52.8 %) used condom consistently, while only one-third (33.3%)rnreported to having used condom the first time they had sexual intercourse.rnMoreover, in the past 12 months, 91(79.8%) reported one, 14(12.3%) two andrn9(7.9%) three and more sexual partners.rnConclusions and recommendations From this study, one can conclude that therernis a high prevalence of premarital sexual practices among the adolescents. Moreover,rnadolescents are practicing risky sexual behaviors such as unprotected sex, multiplernsexual partners, and sex at early age. Therefore, an integrated effort needs to bernviirninitiated to address such adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health problemsrnthrough establishing and strengthening school anti AIDS clubs, providing inservicerntraining for teachers on adolescent reproductive health and establishingrnyouth centers.

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